3 ms·

I get your point, but actually this (volcanic eruption) led to the Dark Ages: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23565762 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?i

• hodgesrm 6y ago
  No single event led to the Dark Ages. It was the result of centuries of economic and intellectual decay, combined with catastrophic invasions and wars. By 536 the Western Roman Empire was already some 60 years in its grave. (Though some argue about the actual end date.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Augustulus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Augustulus
  • api 6y ago
    If the Roman Empire had collapsed without the volcanic eruption, would it have led to anything as deep as the "dark ages" or just a political reshuffle? France has been through like four governments in the past 200 years. The US is only 200 years old and has endured one civil war.
    • hodgesrm 6y ago
      You never know with history because it's not possible to conduct experiments. However, I'm very sceptical of arguments about the lasting effect of volcanic eruptions on world history during the last 2000 years. Known eruptions last 2-3 years, which is bad but of limited duration. [1] Pandemics and disease in general have had far greater impact on humans. The Bubonic Plague epidemic of 1348-1350 wiped out at least 1/3 of the population of Europe according to reputable sources. [2] It affected medieval societies for decades by changing the cost and availability of labor. Destructive wars like the 30 Years War had effects of similar magnitude. (This relevant for the Roman Empire, which suffered continuous invasions starting from 406AD onwards in the West.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death