These were the worst years in history to be alive

Today's speedy dissemination of information may give us the illusion that our world is going through the worst of times. But in fact, history shows us this is not the case—we are actually living in one of the best periods in history when it comes to violence, natural disasters, and diseases. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt and war rages on in many places, but the truth is there have been much worse years to be alive.

In this gallery, we travel back in history and bring you what were arguably the darkest years in the entire history of humankind. Click on to find out.

73,000 BCE

There is a theory that a supervolcanic eruption known as the Toba catastrophe took place in present-day Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. The disaster is said to have cooled down the entire planet for years, and nearly wiped out the entire human species.

536

The year of 536 is often quoted as the worst in history. Why? A massive volcanic eruption (supposedly in Iceland) brought low temperatures and darkness across Europe, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia. The lack of sunlight affected crops, leading to hunger. The Roman Empire had just fallen, so things were indeed pretty chaotic.

542

It’s estimated that around 25-50 million people died between 541 and 542. This was roughly a quarter of the world’s population at the time. The reason? The Justinian plague.

1316

Indeed, 14th-century Europe was not an easy time to be alive. The harvests had failed in 1315, and the same thing happened again in 1316. The result was widespread starvation. It was not until the summer of 1317 that the weather allowed for crops to grow. The event became known as the Great Famine of 1315–1317.

1492

In 1492, Columbus and his crew brought diseases to the New World, so millions died since the Europeans set foot on the American continent. By the 16th century, the vast majority of the indigenous population had been killed.

1520

In 1520, the Spanish conquistadors brought even more disease and death to the native peoples of the Americas. It’s estimated that, in just a year, between 60-90% of the local population was wiped out after contracting smallpox.

1576

The revolt was conducted by Spanish soldiers who hadn’t been paid by the king for their services. This event had repercussions in the economy across Europe.

1601

According to records, in this year alone, 127,000 people were buried in a mass grave in Moscow. The eruption also affected harvests in other European and Asian countries, but Russia was hit the hardest.

1783

But the worst impact was in Africa and India, where monsoons were affected and it didn’t rain as it should, causing severe droughts. This resulted in famine across the Indian subcontinent and other locations. It’s estimated that 11 million people starved to death during the Chalisa famine.

1848

Yes, 1848 became known as the Year of Revolution across Europe, but it was also the year where violence didn’t stop for 12 months and countless people died of hunger. This year was the height of the Irish Great Famine, too.

1919

The good news is that the First World War ended in November 1919. The bad news is that the Russian Civil War was in full swing, Prohibition was introduced in America, and the deadliest event of them all, the Spanish flu that had started in 1918, killed millions in its second year.

1933

In Europe, things didn’t look promising either. The Enabling Act of 1933 was passed in Germany, and the party gained dictatorial powers. This led to the opening of the first concentration camp at Dachau, among other measures.

1943

Britain also brought a lot more food from its Indian colonies, leading to starvation in the Bengal province, where around three million people died of hunger.

1945

The year WWII ended was also one of the worst years to be alive. In August 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, killing thousands. Meanwhile, the genocide of Jewish people was still going strong. It’s believed that between 70 and 85 million people lost their lives during the conflict.

1968

Things were not much better across the pond. The Prague Spring came to an end under the heavy hand of Soviet troops.

2001

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 killed thousands of people in the US. But the repercussions of the event killed even more people. The "War on Terror" led to the invasions of Afghanistan and then Iraq.

It also had an impact on civil liberties around the world, including changes in aviation security regulations. Indeed, it was a year of uncertainty, fear, and death.

2020

The COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people and had a profound impact all over the world. While the numbers are quite dramatic, had this pandemic happened few decades ago, the death toll would surely have been a lot higher.

Sources: (History Collection) (Listverse) (History Defined) (TopTenz)