17th century

 Crop failures, population stagnation, political and economical crisis -> massive violence
 Ming dynasty -> Conquest of Manchuria
 30 years war in Europe and a series of civil wars (ENG, FR, ESP)
 WEATHER influenced people

Popular revolts

 Food riots and armed uprising increased. Rebellions in the Spanish empire

Unprecedented human mortality

 In Europe, due to the 30 Year’s War

 Yongzheng, the Chinese emperor, claimed that half of the population died

Simultaneous state breakdowns

 Civil violence -> English revolutions, Catalan uprisings, Ukrainians vs Poland-Lithuania.

Collapse Ming Dynasty 1368-1644

Major silver importer, urbanization, state building process, agrarian kingdom.

 Chongzhen -> During the Manchuria fights, the most popular Chinese soldiers were put
to death -> Political crisis

External threat

 Manchus attack from the north -> Public budget needed for the war
 Piracy -> Silver trade routes between Spain and China were looted by the NED and UK

Economic factor (fiscal pressure)

There was an increase of land taxes, so the war could be financed.

Conclusion of the Ming collapse

The lack of food due to el Niño and the climate made people die from starvation (it had been
an era of demographic ascent). This led the government to pay taxes to increase the budget
for the war, and the population rebelled. As well, pirates looted the silver from the trade.

 Decline in silver, external aggression, spread of social banditry and a civil war->
Afterwards, Chongzhen hung himself and a minority of Manchus ruled till 1911.

Spanish Empire
So many rebellions took place in the Spanish empire, that’s why the Count-Duke of Olivares
created the Union of Arms -> Military cooperation to maintain the Empire together.

 Huge tension with Catalonia (richest territory) -> Demand for the raise of the taxes,
refused by the Catalans, and the rebellion started.
 Guerra dels Segadors 1640 -> Olivares moved the army to Catalonia
Genesis of Global Crisis
Little Ice Age between 1645 and 1705 probably contributed to the Global Crisis. Knowing this
and that there was enough documentation from Asia, Africa, America and Europe, a book
about General Crisis was imminent, examining long-term factors, economic fluctuations and
events.

Weather, war and welfare

 The unusually cool weather between 1600-1710 resulted in poor harvests.
 Few peace -> Lots of wars (greater firepower…)
 By 1680, most major polities have stability,, agricultural improvements spread, market
integration advanced, diseases were better contained, institutionalization, political
voice…

Japan

Politically united and at peace, not much military spending, tax rates decline and a growing
productivity. As well, Japan had a great INTERNAL CONTROL (repressed rebellions, built roads
and infrastructures, monitored events…)

 Failure of Hideyoshi’s invasion of Korea (1590s) -> End to expansion ambition.

Huge population growth (40%).

Food was distributed and farmers were provided seeds. The nobles suffered their luxuries.

Other important factors

 Emergence of a more empirical New Learning
 Science and technological development took place, but Europe wasn’t the only place,
as historically believed.
 Changes to the political economy -> Several state efforts to protect against famines
gave rise to the world’s first WELFARE STATE.
 Economic progress required competition

The crisis led to a series of polities, which made a shift from warfare to welfare (polities to end
wars). They learned from the crisis.

 However, there is a huge increase of soldiers in 1700, more than 1600, while in China,
a pacifist country, their armies hadn’t enlarged.

Climatic affair
 Little Ice Age -> Bosporus froze, creating a bridge from EU to the Middle-East.
 It takes place due to: decline of solar radiation (fewer sunspots) and the ashes
of volcanic eruptions -> The Maunder Minimum
 More floods, droughts, storms, frosts -> crop failures which lead to depopulation,
diseases…
 The Netherlands weren’t much affected by the Ice Age -> windmills production was
high, fishing went well…

El Niño
The change of the direction of winds produces a swap of the maritime tides. As a consequence,
in the American west coast, floods and heavy winds take place, while in Australia, Japan,
Indonesia… droughts arrive.