The Little Ice Age

By:Chantel Henderson

History 14171154

• The Little Ice Age was a period of time in the 14th through 19th centuries where the global climate dropped an average of 4 degrees lower than today.

• Scientists have a few theories for why this occurred.- One is that volcanic eruptions which emitted sulfuric acid mixed with water particles in the air created massive clouds that reflected the sun light away from Earth’s atmosphere causing the global cooling.- Another is that natural forces, such as glaciers melting into the ocean, disrupted the flow of the Oceanic Conveyor Belt

dropping the temperatures in the ocean and atmosphere.

-The last is that the sun’s radiation dropped ½ of a percent, causing the atmosphere to cool.

What Was The Little Ice Age and When Did It Occur?

The Little Ice Age’s Effect On History

• The Little Ice Age effected mostly the Northern Hemisphere.

• At the beginning of the 14th Century, the climate changed dramatically from Ireland to Russia and rain poured for 5 years. People in Western Europe would grow cereal crops, such as wheat, barley and rye. The cereal crops were wiped out from the rains which started a series of famine for centuries.

• The famine had killed over 500,000 people by 1691. • In France, the peasants were starving and started a

riot, which lead to the French Revolution.• Potatoes were one of the few crops that could

survive the cold temperatures and the Irish relied on them. A disease called blight infected the potatoes and caused the Irish Potato Famine in 1845 to 1852, which caused around 1.5 million deaths.

The Little Ice Age’s Effect On History Continued

• The Little Ice Age had effects on wars.

• After invading Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte’s army had froze and starved to death when retreating back home.

• After a battle with England, the Spanish Armada was wiped out by the frigid, catastrophic storms when sailing back to Spain.

• The Americans won the Battle of Trenton because they were able to survive the battle against the devastatingly cold weather.

The Little Ice Age’s Good Effects On History

• The Little Ice Age caused death and turmoil for centuries, but it had a couple of good effects on history.

• The cold weather wiped out the grape vines used for making wine. So, Americans made beer and hard liquors instead. This is why most Americans are beer and liquor drinkers.

• Andrea Amati was able to invent the violin during the 15th century because the wood was so dense from the cold weathers.

Sources List

• Little Ice Age. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_ice_age>.

• Little Ice Age: Big Chill. 2005. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.