When was the worst time to live in human history?

The pandemic has since killed over three million people worldwide. However researchers say human civilization went through a year much worse than any of these events, a year they say was the worst-ever to be alive — 536 CE .

What is considered the worst year in human history?

1562. Harvard professor Michael McCormick argues the worst year to be alive was 536 AD. The year was terrible due to cataclysmic eruptions that blocked out the sun and the spread of the plague. 536 ushered in the coldest decade in thousands of years and started a century of economic devastation.

What’s the worst year to be alive?

536
Ask medieval historian Michael McCormick what year was the worst to be alive, and he’s got an answer: “536.” Not 1349, when the Black Death wiped out half of Europe. Not 1918, when the flu killed 50 million to 100 million people, mostly young adults. But 536.

Why was the year 536 so bad?

The volcanic eruptions, accompanied by the Plague of Justinian which began in 541, caused crop failures, famine, and millions of deaths and initiated the Late Antique Little Ice Age which lasted from 536 to 660. Medieval scholar Michael McCormick said that 536 was the worst year in history to be alive.

What happen in 1347?

One of the worst plagues in history arrived at Europe’s shores in 1347. Five years later, some 25 to 50 million people were dead. Called the Great Mortality as it caused its devastation, this second great pandemic of Bubonic Plague became known as the Black Death in the late 17th Century.

Why was the year 535 the worst year in history?

Extreme weather events of 535–536, thought to have been caused by an extensive veil of dust in the atmosphere, begin in the Northern Hemisphere. They continue until the following year, causing unseasonal weather and crop failure worldwide.

What was the worst year in human history?

If someone asked you what the worst year in human history was, what would you guess? 1347 CE was pretty bad. That’s the year the Black Death seriously hit Europe. Any of the years of the Holocaust, between 1941 and 1945. Or 1918, the year of the start of the flu pandemic that killed up to 100 million people.

What was the worst year of the Middle Ages?

As it turns out, the suckiest of all was a year most people have probably never even thought about: 536 CE. “It was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year,” Harvard University archaeologist and medieval historian Michael McCormick told Science Magazine.

Are some years worse than others for Humanity?

It’s much easier to identify terrible periods for humanity, that is, times of war or centuries where not much happened at all, with people’s lives equal measures boring and terrifying. That said, however, some years were certainly worse than others. Some were standalone bad years – 12 months in which it all seemed to go wrong for humanity.

What is the darkest era in human history?

There were many dark eras in human history were people suffered a lot due to climate, virus and own stupidity. On the top of my list, I would put 536 AD era. It was one of the most darkest eras of all. 536 AD era: A mysterious fog plunged Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia into darkness, day and night for 18 months.