Nature's Mutiny : : how the Little Ice Age of the Long Seventeenth Century Transformed the West and Shaped the Present

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Call Number: 304.25 Bl
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

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Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	304.25 Bl	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Originally published in German: Die Welt aus den Angeln (München : Carl Hanser Verlag, 2017).
"An illuminating work of environmental history that chronicles the great climate crisis of the 1600s, which transformed the social and political fabric of Europe. Although hints of a crisis appeared as early as the 1570s, the temperature by the end of the sixteenth century plummeted so drastically that Mediterranean harbors were covered with ice, birds literally dropped out of the sky, and "frost fairs" were erected on a frozen Thames--with kiosks, taverns, and even brothels that become a semi-permanent part of the city. Recounting the deep legacy and far-ranging consequences of this "Little Ice Age," acclaimed historian Philipp Blom reveals how the European landscape had suddenly, but ineradicably, changed by the mid-seventeenth century. While apocalyptic weather patterns destroyed entire harvests and incited mass migrations, they gave rise to the growth of European cities, the emergence of early capitalism, and the vigorous stirrings of the Enlightenment. A timely examination of how a society responds to profound and unexpected change, Nature's Mutiny will transform the way we think about climate change in the twenty-first century and beyond."-- Provided by publisher.

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History writing at its best submitted by ruxandra on June 27, 2019, 7:42pm 'What changes in society when the climate changes?' This is the question the author, Philipp Blom, wanted to answer, maybe with the current climate change in mind. Focusing on the Little Ice Age (roughly from 1570 to 1800s), he offers an insightful analysis of its consequences on the economy, society and culture of Europe. It is a history book, but the style is not dry 'academese'; at times it is even lyrical, most of the time it is fascinating.
The hallmarks of Western Civilization, turns out, have their origins in the effects of the prolonged drop in temperature: rise of democracy, free markets based on maximizing profits, exploitation of resources - both natural and human, Enlightenment ideas, and intrinsic inequality. Some of these are precisely what is not working in our climate change period.
The changes from feudal fortress to capitalist markets, from th Christian canon to Enlightenment ideas (with the contradiction between universal ideas and particular interests, as in 'all humans are equal, but slavery is ok') and the non-linear path of history are analyzed in detail and make for an engrossing reading, if at times depressing.

Started out well, but then... submitted by pk on July 13, 2019, 5:25pm I really wanted to like this book. I was highly interested in the premise - how the little Ice Age of the 1600s (and then some) changed the course of history in Europe. And the book started with very interesting, easy to read (not too academic) examples of what changed in the climate and how that affected a whole society's culture and government. Fascinating. But later in the book, it started to just talk about European history of the time, with no connections to the climate. I almost always finish a book I start, but I ended up not finishing this since I wasn't too interested in European history alone. So, if you aren't into straight history but are intrigued with the main topic, go ahead and read about 2/3 of the book!

Beautifully written, fascinating look at a turning point in history submitted by Sophie on January 30, 2022, 6:57pm Many of us have little idea what a dramatic and extreme climatic event took place in the seventeenth century. In spite of a sketchy knowledge of ox-roasting on the Thames, and having heard the name the 'Little Ice Age,' I was gripped by this very readable exposition.

Vivid descriptions from the time show how everyone's life was deeply affected. Blom, a well known writer on Shakespeare, includes sketches of the lives of various thinkers, who to me had been no more than famous names, placing their thought in a real physical context. Just as Einstein's youth in the age of trains inspired thoughts about speed and relativity, so the acceleration of foreign trade and city growth when crop failures were emptying the countryside, led to a rupture in the old order and a rejection of the old authorities.

Of course it makes sense that the transition from the Medieval age to the Renaissance, from Feudalism to Capitalism, happened for a reason, and not simply because lots of people suddenly thought new thoughts, or felt like it was time for a change. This is a gripping journey through the forces behind the transition.

This book inevitably gives rise to an unstated warning - that disruption of the climate must have deep, lasting and unpredicatable social consequences.