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Famines in HistoryBy Laura Faber
What is a Famine? Extreme scarcity or shortage of food
Worst on Record Lasted 3 years
1958-1961 Statistics of deaths
are disputed Between 15-43
million people were killed including lost births
One of the least understood events in human history Came at a time
when China thought it was ending its famine cycle
The Great Chinese Famine
Second worst in history
Brief but deadly 24 million people
were killed In a matter of
months Could be first-
worse since it exceeds the lowest reported death toll from the Great Chinese Famine
Chinese Famine of 1907
Lasted 6 years Between 1896-
1902 Worst famine in
Indian history Considered the
most disastrous famine of that time
19 million people killed
Caused by Shortage of food
grans Escalating prices
Indian Famine
Lasted 5 years 1769-1773
Famine was blamed on the British East India Company’s rule For greedy
principals Caused about 10
million deaths About 1/3 of the
population Affected the lower
portion of India
Bengal Famine of 1770
Believed to have been caused by the hard times during World War I
Between 5 – 10 million deaths
Russian Famine of 1921
Also known as the Irish Potato Famine
Took place between 1845-1852
Caused by potato disease that destroyed crops
One million people died Another million
emigrated
Great Irish Famine
Food Scarcity causes Increased food pricesDecrease in consumption of other
goods & services Increase in unemploymentDecrease in income Decrease in government income
Government makes decision Increase aid to starvingRemove tariffs on foreign goods
Famine Myths
Not enough food
Too many people
Bad weather
Not a result of a singular cause
Long series of social, political and economic processes and policies
Actual Causes
“It’s not the rains, it’s the rulers. … drought has not been as devastating to Ethiopians as their own autocratic governments.” – Bill Easterly on Ethiopia
Works CitedBird, D. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.ranker.com/list/the-worst-droughts-and-famines-i n-history/drake-birdChang, G. H., & Wen, G. J. (1997). Communal dining and the Chinese Famine of 1958-1961. Chicago Journals, 61(1), 1. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/452319?uid=3739640&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101117304371Charles M, E. (1977). The politics of hunger: The soviet response to famine, 1921. Europe-Asia Studies, 29(4), 506. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/096681377084111 52Kte'pi, B. (n.d.). Chinese famine (1907). Retrieved from http://sageereference.com/abstract/disasterrelief/n31.xml Murphy. (2005, August 19). Underlying causes of famine. Retrieved from
http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/underlying-causes-of- famine/ The History Place. Irish potato famine. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/begins .htm