#famines

The timeline for Armand in the AMC show is a bit confusing, placing his birth year variously as 1500-1505/1508 depending on

whether you date his ages from the Palma Vecchio painting painted in (1520-25)... ( making him 15 from 1515-1520; giving him turning dates of 1527-1532 assuming he's 27)

or

whether you count backwards 514 years from 2022 ("The Thing Lay Still") ( making him 15 in 1523; giving him a turning date of 1535, assuming he's 27)

Armand is clear that he came to Paris from Rome in 1556. ("No Pain")

But what's clear is the famine and plague were endemic no matter where Armand's timeline starts.

SOUTH ASIA

Famine was endemic in South Asia in the 16th century (Armand years bolded)

1509,

1520,

1521,

1525-6,

1528,

1534,

1539-40,

1540-2,

1544,

1555-6,

1557

VENICE

Plague and famine were endemic in Venice during the time Armand lived there as a mortal and as a vampire.

The Black Plague wasn't the only widespread occurrence of the bubonic plague in Europe. There was also a second plague pandemic, per Wikipedia (covers Europe in general):

The second pandemic was particularly widespread in the following years: 1360–1363; 1374; 1400; 1438–1439; 1456–1457; 1464–1466; 1481–1485; 1500–1503; 1518–1531; 1544–1548; 1563–1566; 1573–1588; 1596–1599; 1602–1611; 1623–1640; 1644–1654; and 1664–1667. (Armand years bolded)

Specifically, Venice suffered 22 outbreaks of plague from 1361-1528:

1527-9 outbreak of plague and typhus (Armand with a birth year of 1500-2 would be 27)

1535- outbreak of pneumonia and influenza (Armand with a birth year of 1508 would be 27)

1555-6- outbreak of plagues in Venice and Padua.

Venice also had repeated famines that caused panic stricken peasants to run from the country to the richer capital:

1527-9

1539-40

1544-5

early and middle 1550s

1559-60

1569-70

ROME

In 1527 after the Sack of Rome, plague broke out in Rome and Florence, killing a quarter of the Florentines.

PARIS

In 1557, the year after Armand was sent to the Paris coven, there was a major global influenza outbreak across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Specifically it covered most of Italy and the Paris royal courts were closed down.

Recreated 1918 flu. It's just the flu unless it kills you.

Plague was also endemic in Paris in the 16th and 17th centuries, almost one of every three years until 1670 with major epidemics occurring in

1529-33

1553-5

1560-2

1580

1595-7

1604

1606-8

1612-1618

1622-32

1652

Are We Living in the Last Days?

By Author Eli Kittim

Mt 24.6-14 (NRSV):

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of

wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this

must take place, but the end is not yet. For

nation will rise against nation [WW1], and

kingdom against kingdom [WW2], and

there will be famines and earthquakes in

various places: all this is but the beginning

of the birth pangs. … Then many

will fall away, and they will betray one

another and hate one another [hate

crimes]. And many false prophets will arise

and lead many astray. And because of the

increase of lawlessness [civil unrest], the

love of many will grow cold. But the one who

endures to the end will be saved. And this

good news of the kingdom will be

proclaimed throughout the world, as a

testimony to all the nations; and then the

end will come.”

The 20th Century Was the Most Violent in Human History

Notice that Matthew mentions that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Mt. 24.7) as “the beginning of the birth pangs” (v. 8). And then he mentions another signpost, namely, “the increase of lawlessness” (v. 12). If we focus on these 4 prophetic markers——i.e. world wars, famines, earthquakes, and “the increase of lawlessness”——we will gain a better understanding of the specific *timeline* that Matthew has in mind. Francis P. Sempa, a prolific author and professor of political science, once wrote:

“The optimists among us who believe in the

inevitable progress of man, either forget or

ignore the fact that the twentieth century

was the bloodiest, most destructive century

in human history. The century’s two world

wars resulted in the deaths of at least 60

million people. The Russian Civil War of

1917-21 killed another 5-6 million. Between

them, the tyrannical regimes of Hitler,

Stalin, and Mao killed at least another 60

million of their own citizens. Many millions

more were killed in dozens of other, smaller

conflicts.”

Not to mention the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed almost a quarter of a million (226,000) people! Author Matthew White (Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, 2010) has even higher estimates of the total number of victims of collective violence in the 20th Century, which indicate that over 200 million people perished due to war, oppression, famine, and disease. No other century even comes close.

The Deadliest Famines in History Occurred in the 20th Century

According to an article in Wikipedia:

“During the 20th century, an estimated 70 to

100 million people died from famines across

the world, of whom over half died in China,

with an estimated 30 million dying during

the famine of 1958–1961, up to 10 million in

the Chinese famine of 1928–1930, and over

two million in the Chinese famine of 1942–

43, and millions more lost in famines in

North and East China. The USSR lost 8

million claimed by the Soviet famine of

1932-33, over a million in both the Soviet

famine of 1946-47 and Siege of Leningrad,

the 5 million in the Russian famine of 1921–

22, and other famines.”

Some of the Deadliest Earthquakes Ever Recorded in History Occurred in the 20th Century

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_20th-century_earthquakes

A Significant Increase of Lawlessness in the 20th Century

Lawlessness also implies civil unrest. The civil unrest that the world has seen in the past century is unparalleled. It would be beyond the scope of this paper to furnish the reader with an exhaustive list of crime figures and statistics of the past century. One thing is certain. The 20th century ushered in, particularly with the advent of two global conflicts, an unprecedented increase of lawlessness and destruction on a scale unimaginable only a few centuries ago. There was also a significant increase in crimes against humanity in the past century, especially due to the rise of fascist and totalitarian regimes (e.g. Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, etc.). Never before have there been war crimes, murders, massacres, genocides on such a massive scale where, for example, in the case of the Holocaust, approximately 6 million Jews were exterminated. Today, we still hear of hate crimes being perpetrated on large populations and minorities (e.g. ethnic cleansing, police brutalities, terrorism, etc.). Given that society is becoming increasingly lawless, more and more people are being armed with concealed weapons either to perpetrate crimes or to defend themselves and their loved ones.

Conclusion

It is worth noting that there is a prophecy in the Book of Daniel that suggests an *increase in knowledge* in the last days (which would include modern innovations, such as smartphones, computers, satellites, self-driving cars, laser surgery, the internet) as well as *transportation efficiency,* such as increased speed in sea, road, rail, and air transportation, unlike anything we had ever seen or even imagined before. Up until the 20th century people still used traditional means of transportation, such as Horse Carriages to get around. But with the twentieth century came an explosion of knowledge and innovation, from cars to high-speed trains to airplanes to jet engines to space shuttles to computers to nuclear weapons, you name it. Anticipating all that, Daniel 12.4 (ESV) reads:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal

the book, until the time of the end. Many

shall run to and fro [fast travel], and

knowledge shall increase.”

(Day 20 of @thewatchau‘s Annual Prompts! Ending stretch now!

tw: vomiting, but it’s the last line)

Rufus was young, but he remembered the First Great Famine. He was one month away from turning seven years old when it struck.

He was big enough to help in the fields, if not with the sheep. He remembered the horror he felt when he pulled up a carrot and it was black, rotten and reeking of death.

His scream had attracted his Da, who took one look at the carrot and picked up Rufus, letting the boy bury his face into his shoulder so he wouldn’t have to look at it.

His Da told him to go back to the house and help Mam and Dunla and he couldn’t run fast enough.

He couldn’t explain in words why it spooked him so much. It was just a rotten carrot, it was probably the only one. He turned out to be wrong on that.

Dunla was doing some weaving while Rufus went over the farm numbers with Mam. Or rather, she did the numbers and Rufus tried not to fall asleep.

Da came back into the house, and Rufus perked up, glad for something else to do.

“Need a hand Da?” he called out.

Da didn’t seem to hear him, instead slumping into his armchair by the fire.

Mam stood up, ruffling the Rufus’s hair as she passed, and stood beside the chair.

“Brian?”

Da shook his head, running a hand under his eyes. Mam turned to Rufus and Dunla, the latter of which had stopped weaving.

“Dunla, go check on the uplands house. Take Rufus and one of the dogs with you.”

“Mam!” Dunla protested, but a look from their Mam made her shut up. “Come on Rufus.”

Rufus got up to follow his sister, looking back as his Mam comforted his Da. Why he wouldn’t learn until later.

Every single crop they had pulled was black and rotten.

Rufus knew Mam and Da weren’t telling them the whole story, but he knew enough. He wasn’t good with numbers, but he could tell they were going down. He noticed there was less food on the table. Breakfast was the only exception, because they had a brownie, and what they offered in return did not depend on what they could find in the market.

They had it better than most. Rufus could see it when they went to Slinad for market. They had sheep and wool to sell, while those who only grew crops had nothing.

He hated going. He hated seeing people that hungry, that scared.

Everyone hoped it would get better next harvest. It did not.

They couldn’t keep all of their farmhands. They simply didn’t have the money for it. He hated seeing them go, many of them were his friends. He cried to his Mam, who tried to show him the numbers and how it made sense, but that had made him cry harder.

After nearly a year and a half of failed harvest, Rufus’s little brother Liam was born.

Normally this would be a great thing, finally Rufus wasn’t the baby anymore! But, there was less food than before, and Mam was always hungry, matching the baby in appetite.

When Rufus was supposed to be asleep, he overheard his parents arguing. Da was worried that the baby wouldn’t survive, and bring Mam down with him. Mam wasn’t as convinced.

Rufus didn’t stay to listen to the argument, running back to bed before he heard more things he didn’t want to hear.

Liam survived, as did Mam. They weren’t always strong, but they were alive.

Rufus was coming up to nine when he went out harvesting in 1595. He hadn’t been as badly affected by the rotten crops after the first one, but there was still the churning of dread in his stomach.

The parsnip came out, dark from the earth and white underneath. Rufus just stared at it before scanning the field and running for his Da.

“Da! Da!”

Rufus missed that Da’s cart already had a small bundle of healthy parsnips, but that didn’t stop his Da from ruffling his hair before swinging him up into hug. It was over. It was finally over.

He’d almost forgotten about it until he was nearly 21, autumn 1606. He was pulling up a turnip this time, but when the smell hit he turned away, gagging.

It had to be just the one. It happens sometimes. It couldn’t be happening again, not with the raids as well. It couldn’t it just couldn’t!

He pulled another, the same result. The root slid off the stem and plopped wetly onto the ground into mush.

“Holy shit!” a farm hand cried. “What the fuck?!”

He wasn’t the only one. No no no no no.

He heard a lot of the farm hands sounding confused as he turned and walked away. He walked calmly until he was behind the tool shed, where he couldn’t control his nausea anymore and emptied the contents of his stomach.