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Great Environmental Shocks in History | Before the Plague | 3

March 19

48 mins

View Transcript

Episode Description

Afua and Peter explore the "Great Famine" of the early 1300s. Triggered by sudden global cooling and torrential rains, Europe's food supply was decimated and up to 70% of its cattle were wiped out through a terrifying bovine plague. This often-overlooked catastrophe didn't just cause mass starvation; it physically "scarred" a generation of children, leaving them uniquely vulnerable to the Black Death when it arrived decades later.

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Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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