The Deadliest China Famine: When Parents Ate Their children
A famine that turned cannibalism in northern China
Our history has witnessed wars, pandemics, earthquakes, and whatnot. Although war is one of the man-inflicted sufferings which the rulers or politicians can avoid through statesmanship.
Such Wars can not be said for the whims of nature. When they strike have disastrous consequences for the locals.
The deadliest natural disaster in world history happened in northern China at the end of the 19th Century.
This famine is known as The Northern Chinese Famine(1876–1879), which occurred in China's Qing dynasty. A drought emerged in northern China in the year 1875, resulting in significant crop failure.
Out of 108 million, over 13 million people lost their lives.
The 19th Century was nicknamed the Century of Humiliation by the Chinese.
The great Manchu Qing Dynasty lost almost all of the wars against foreign powers and used up all its resources suppressing rebellions.
The Empire’s coffers were extensively depleted; internal conflicts such as Yan and Muslim rebellions also significantly reduced regional grain reserves. This grain stock was kept reserved for emergencies in 1875.
