The Worst Year Ever – 536 AD

“In 1349, the Black Death killed half the population of Europe. In 1520, in the Americas, smallpox killed between 60 and 90 percent of the continents’ original inhabitants. In 1918 the Spanish Flu led to the deaths of over 50 million people. And 1933 saw the rise of Hitler. However, historians are unanimous in their choice. The title of the worst year in history is easily held by the year 536 AD.”

Why? Researchers led by Medieval historian, Michael McCormick, and glaciologist Paul Mayewski, discovered that a volcanic eruption in Iceland in early 536 led to incredibly large quantities of ash being spread across much of the globe, creating a fog that cast the world into darkness. This eruption was so immense that it altered the global climate and adversely affected weather patterns and crop cultivation for years to come. It plunged Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia into complete darkness for nearly 2 years. Global temperatures plummeted. Famine was rampant and crops failed across Europe, Africa, and Asia. This caused starvation and economic disaster and in 541 A.D. an outbreak of bubonic plague led to the death of nearly 100 million people and almost half of the Byzantine Empire.

2020 may have been difficult but it has nothing on 536 A.D. The next time, I’m sitting on my couch shouting at the TV because I have to shelter in place, or I think of complaining about how hard my life is. I’m going to read this article and be grateful, that at least I don’t have to deal with the bubonic plague.