Cienciaes.com: Historical events in the shadow of climate crises. We spoke with José Soto Chica.

2023-11-28 19:57:31

Throughout history, climate has played a crucial role in shaping societies, empires and civilizations. From the fall of great dynasties to devastating famines, weather patterns have often been a silent player in some of the most dramatic turns in human history.

In the previous program, we talked about research that links the devastating effects of a drought to the fall of the Visigoth Kingdom and the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula during the 7th and 8th centuries. The article, published in Nature Communications, offers results obtained through two different approaches: one based on the study of paleoenvironmental indicators and the other on the consultation of historical sources.

Jon Camuera explained how the analysis of pollen grains in the sediments of Lake Padul (Granada), together with studies of the growth of stalactites and stalagmites in caves, indicates that there was a period of great drought in the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 7th century.

In today’s program we focus on the historical approach, with José Soto Chica, doctor in Medieval History and researcher at the Center for Byzantine, Neo-Greek and Cypriot Studies of Granada.

Writings of the XII Council of Toledo, held in November 681 AD, reveal that it was convened “to support a collapsing world”, comments José Soto. Another text, three years later, in Title III of the Book of Minutes of the XIV Council of Toledo, says: “This note, with everything that has happened, was presented at the worst moment of terrible weather, when all lands, at the worst moment of winter, are covered by heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures.”. This suggests that, in the fall of 684, survival conditions were very difficult due to low temperatures. The Mozarabic chronicle of the year 754 AD states that during this period “_Ervigio was consecrated in the kingdom of the Goths. He ruled for seven years and Hispania suffered an enormous famine.” These references are in the article that you can read here

Talking to José Soto is a delight. During the interview, he explains how climatic circumstances have played a role in many other historical crises. He mentions the crisis of the year 536, which caused the so-called “great veil of dust” obscuring the Sun for three years, possibly caused by the eruption of a volcano; the “locust cloud” that devastated the peninsula in the year 580, caused by climate changes; and the “Little Ice Age” between the 14th and 19th centuries, a period of colder temperatures with profound effects on Europe. He also refers to the collapse of the Mayan civilization around 900 AD, linked to severe droughts that triggered famines and social unrest.

José Soto mentions other historical crises caused by various factors, including changes in the movements of the Earth and its orbit, catastrophic events such as the fall of extraterrestrial bodies or large volcanic eruptions, and human actions such as deforestation.

All these historical references tell us about crises related to climate change. As we face new challenges such as global climate change, it is crucial to learn from the lessons of the past to address current problems wisely and mitigate, where possible, potentially catastrophic consequences in the near future.

I invite you to listen to José Soto Chica, doctor in Medieval History and researcher at the Center for Byzantine, Neo-Greek and Cypriot Studies of Granada, author of essays such as: Empires and barbarians The Visigoths. Children of a furious god The eagle and the crows. The fall of the Roman Empire and Leovigild. King of the Hispanics. He is also the author of historical novels: The God Who Inhabits the Sword Under Fire and Salt and Egilona, ​​Queen of Hispania.