The Flaming Four Horsemen: Famine Quiz

Answer: New Mexico

The Chaco Culture National Historical Park can be found in New Mexico on the Trail of the Ancients, a New Mexico Scenic Byway that follows prehistoric archaeological and geological sites in the northwestern part of the state. It is a United States National Historical Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is understood that the Anasazi gave up their nomadic ways and settled in the area to pursue farming around 900 AD. Most scholars believe a fifty year drought beginning in 1130 AD and the ensuing famine to be the most plausible explanation for abandonment of the area. Other factors may have contributed to the exodus but these were most likely caused by or exacerbated by the drought and famine.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Monsoon rains were disrupted

The Skull Famine got its name from the unburied remains of countless victims that covered open areas. It is also known as the Doji Bara famine. Due to an El Nino event, regional monsoon rains were disrupted for four years. Victims numbered in the millions such that depopulation from both death and migration occurred in several areas. The impact on the culture and history of the affected areas should not be underestimated but is hard to quantify because most records perished with the people. The Skull Famine is one of many famines to hit India in the 1700s and 1800s.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member purelyqing.

Answer: Ethiopia

More than 400,000 people perished during the great famine of 1983-85 in Ethiopia. For the most part the cause of the tragedy is attributed to severe droughts that plagued the nation during this time. And yes, climate did play a major part; the provinces of Eritrea, Gojjam, Hararghe, Tigray and Wollo all received record low levels of rainfall in the mid-1980s. However, evidence does exist that the famine was in place before the droughts racked the country and here the finger is pointed directly at government policy, in particular its "social transformation" agenda that was directed at its non-insurgent areas.

Band-Aid, for its part, certainly put the World's spotlight on Ethiopia's plight and the single they released, "Do They Know it's Christmas", raised in excess of $US 24,000,000 for the cause.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: The Great Leap Forward

The new government policies of Mao's second five year plan, the Great Leap Forward, combined with the natural disasters of both drought and flooding caused the Great Chinese Famine. Collectivization, close planting, the Great sparrow campaign, and forced labor relocation from agricultural work to iron and steel production all had disastrous effects on food production during this time. These policies further aggravated the natural disasters that occurred during these years. Estimates are that 40 plus million people died as a result of the famine.

The Cultural Revolution took place in China from 1966 to 1976. The New Frontier was JFK's economic policy. The Great Society was LBJ's economic policy.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Ukraine

The Ukraine with its rich and fertile farmlands has often been called the "bread basket of Europe". Their quest for independence, which was in place before Joseph Stalin came to power, stretched back to Czarist rule. To Stalin this undermining of Soviet influence was intolerable and he immediately put into action a plan designed to crush the spirit of the Ukraine people.

The Soviet system of collectivization of farmlands was imposed. Next the wealthy farmers, the kulaks, were thrown out of their homes, imprisoned, relocated to "secret" settlements or transported to Siberia. Eventually, as a class, the kulaks were wiped out. The vast stores of grain, that could have fed the Ukraine for at least two years, were confiscated. This was either dumped on the foreign market to generate capital to fund Stalin's Five Year Plan and promote the modernization of the Soviet Union or used to feed the peoples of Russia. All food in the Ukraine was deemed to be the property of the state and the theft of even an ear of corn was punishable by death. Borders were sealed off by loyal troops allowing food to be shipped out but preventing any aid from entering the Ukraine. It didn't take long for the country to starve. Estimates vary widely from a low of 1.8 million to a high of 12 million. In 2010, the Court of Appeal of Kiev estimated 3.9 million deaths and another 6.1 million people not born. By 1933, the population was decimated, the kulaks eliminated, and the spirit of the farmers crushed. With his objective achieved Stalin allowed relief to enter the country and the famine was eased.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: Seed bank

Several botanists died of starvation during the siege, protecting seeds and tubers stored in the seed bank. The collection housed over 200,000 types of seeds which could have alleviated the hunger pains that the botanists suffered through the siege.

The Siege of Leningrad began on the 8th of September 1941 lasted a total of 872 days. Civilian casualties during the siege are estimated to range between 600,000 and 1.1 million. Most of these were a result of the famine caused by the siege and the harsh Russian winters. Although some supplies were shipped into the city during the winter over Lake Ladoga or air dropped in when the frozen lake could not be used during the warmer seasons, the sheer tonnage of supplies delivered could never meet the demand and severe rationing lasted throughout the entirety of the siege.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member zonko.

Answer: World War II

The ghettos established by Nazi Germany were nothing more than disguised prison camps, designed to allow the Germans to control the population of a designated area without the use of a massive amount of manpower. The Warsaw Ghetto came into existence in October of 1940 and its victims, for the main, were Polish Jews. It was estimated that the Germans managed to cram some 400,000 residents, which represented nearly a third of Warsaw's population into an area that made up less than 2.5% of the city.

Severe rationing was imposed to ensure that the German army was afforded the bulk of the city's food supply. Whilst Germans feasted on in excess of 2,600 calories per day people in the ghetto were kept to 184 calories. The ghetto was destroyed by the Germans in May of 1943 to quell an uprising by the Jews. During this period of incarceration it was estimated that more than 300,000 residents perished, over 100,000 of these as a result of starvation.

The Warsaw Ghetto was a direct result of the Hunger Plan, A Nazi economic plan instituted during the war to give priority to the German army and the German population in allocating food supplies. The plan was implemented throughout the occupied countries.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19

Answer: False

Although the failure of the potato harvest caused by the blight was a problem, many factors contributed to turning it into a famine. Chief among these were the British government's policies leading up to and during the crisis. These policies combined with the socio-economic forces at work in the country at the time to make what should have been a minor problem into a life and death problem. Ireland actually exported huge quantities of food during the crisis. The problem was that the potato crop was what most of the poor population of the island relied on for daily sustenance and the other crops were money crops raised by rich land owners for export. The population of the island decreased dramatically as a result of the famine both from death and immigration to escape it. The Irish immigrated in large numbers to Canada, The US, Australia and other parts of the world.

Because the results of the famine inversely affected the poor Catholic population more than the Protestant land owning population, some have levelled the charge of genocide against the British government for its policies both before and during the crisis. Some have likened it to the Holodomor in Ukraine under Stalin but this comparison is a stretch. A more realistic comparison would be to the Chinese government's responsibility during the Great Chinese Famine of 1958 to 1961. It was more a case of gross negligence and of promoting policies that actually hurt the population rather than a systematic attempt to destroy a group of people. In 1997, Tony Blair apologized to the Irish people for the role the British government played in the famine.

Most historians consider the Great Famine to be a dividing point in Irish history. The famine forever changed the political, cultural, social, and economic landscape of the island and became a driving force behind the Irish independence movement.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Bobby Sands

The word famine comes from the Latin word "fames" which means hunger. The American Heritage Dictionary defines famine as severe hunger and Bobby Sands certainly endured that. Although the famine in this case may have been self-inflicted, it was still famine. Famine as a tool of warfare or politics is nothing new. As noted in this quiz, you can look at Leningrad in World War II or the Holodomor, the "Hunger-extermination", inflicted on Ukraine by Stalin as examples.

On the 1st March, 1981 Bobby Sands was the first of ten prisoners to commence a hunger strike in an effort to win five demands from the British government; the right not to wear a prison uniform, not to do prison work, free association with other prisoners, the right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week and full remission lost through the protest. Sands, 27 years old at the time, passed away on 5 May, 1981 after subsisting for 66 days on a diet of salt and water. The remaining nine prisoners, who staggered the starts of their strikes to maximize publicity, would also perish. It was only after the death of the last prisoner that the government relented and acceded to some of the concessions sought. This is clearly a successful example of famine used to accomplish a political end but at a great price.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: Bengal Famine of 1770

Adam Smith argued that free trade could have kept the drought from turning into a famine but that the policies of the East India Company through "improper regulations" and "injudicious restraints" turned the scarcity into famine ("Wealth of Nations" vol. 2, p. 110). He did not argue that the Bengal Famine of 1770 could have been stopped since it was rooted in a drought but rather that the effects of the drought would have been mitigated by a free trade policy and thereby not resulted in a famine.

The company was far more than just a business and had taken over the role of government, even fielding its own army with the blessing of London. In 1757, the forces of the East India Company had taken control of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey. The policies put in place by the company in an attempt to maximize profits led to the famine in which an estimated 10 million people died. This in turn hurt the company's bottom line because no one was left to work the fields upon which the company's profits were based. In an attempt to keep from going bankrupt, the company influenced the British government to pass the Tea Act of 1773. This in turn helped fuel anti-British sentiment in the colonies and help lead to the American Revolution.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.