The Black Death of the 1300s was certainly a dreadful era for living, 563 AD was quite grim, and the first half of the 20th century brought considerable suffering. However, when it comes to terrible times for humankind, the horrors of the 17th century are often underestimated.
For some, prosperity bloomed, the world grew increasingly interconnected, yet simultaneously it was engulfed by wars, political upheavals, inflation, and chaos caused by climate shifts. Sound familiar?
Historians frequently label this time the “General Crisis”—an epoch characterized by widespread conflict and instability that unfolded from the start of the 17th century until the early 18th, primarily in Europe but also across significant parts of Asia.
As proof of how severe this century was, it is considered to be the last instance where the Earth’s population declined. The primary reason for this reduction was the incredible number of wars that occurred in the 1600s: the English Civil War, the Fronde civil wars in France, the Eighty Years’ War, the Franco-Spanish War, the First Anglo-Dutch War, the Polish–Swedish wars, the Mughal and Maratha wars in India, the fall of the Ming Dynasty during the Manchu conquest of China, and conflicts between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, to name just a few.
The cherry on top was the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), a continental nightmare involving nearly every major European power. One of history’s deadliest conflicts, it claimed the lives of up to 8 million people and left parts of Central Europe in ruins.
Like any historical event, the General Crisis cannot be explained by a single factor, and scholars have debated the source of the problem for decades. It is clear, however, that much of the turmoil can be linked to demographic shifts, societal changes, the repercussions of warfare, and the Little Ice Age that occurred around this time.
According to NASA, this abnormally cold period lasted roughly from 1550 to 1850 AD in Europe, North America, and Asia, with the first peak occurring in the mid-17th century. The cause of the Little Ice Age is not precisely known, but one of the most solid explanations suggests that increased volcanic activity played a major role during this interval.
To make this century of bloodshed even more unpleasant, the weather was awful. If you examine European paintings from this century, you will notice that many of them depict snowy scenes. This is likely no coincidence—temperatures dropped by as much as 2°C in many parts of Western Europe.
Starting in 1608, it became so cold in London that “Frost Fairs” were held on the Thames, where locals set up markets, played games, and held revelries on the frozen river. By the 19th century, severe freezes of the Thames became less frequent, and nowadays they occur very rarely.
However, not everything was bright and filled with festivities.
A 2011 study asserted that the Little Ice Age had a devastating impact on agricultural output. In turn, this led to food shortages, economic instability, public discontent across Europe, and ultimately, numerous wars, uprisings, and revolts.
By comparing climate data with other variables including population figures, conflicts, social unrest, crop production, grain prices, and wages, researchers concluded that the General Crisis was causally connected to the global cooling between 1560 and 1660.
It is quite evident that people in the 17th century were well aware of how bleak their age was. A document from China in 1641 reportedly stated: “Among all the strange occurrences, calamities, and rebellions, there has been nothing worse than this.” Two years later, a pamphlet from Spain explained: “It seems this is one of those epochs in which every nation is turning upside down, leading some great minds to suspect that we are approaching the end of the world.”
It is often said that we too live in latter times: the climate emergency deepens, pollution flourishes, and geopolitical tensions reach a breaking point. Perhaps while contemplating our own demise, we should turn to the 17th century and remember that all crises eventually pass (and new ones inevitably arise).
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