TRAURIGER VULCANO - aber SCHÖN
Geschrieben von Pitt Reitmaier am 01. November 2001 01:07:08:
Als Antwort auf: Re: SCHÖNE VULCANOS NR LETZT von Willem geschrieben von Willem van Blijderveen am 31. Oktober 2001 23:56:32:
Willem,
Thank you for the explanation and the wonderful picture, which becomes a different meaning now.
Anyhow, what impresses mankind are spectacular natural catastrophes, impressive eruptions and the sudden death of thousands.
What we can't see so easily is the silent death due to unfavourable conditions - climatic, economic, political dependency and socio-cultural paralysis.
If we have a look at the development of the demography of Iceland since discovery: There were 700 years of starvation and pruning back of the population due to missing carrying capacity of the island under cooling of the climate, pestilence and natural catastrophies. It is the terrible history of a continuous subsistence crisis and, interesting enough, the inability to react to a changing environment because of the colonial rule. So political and public health problems had much more impact than any one of the SCHÖNSTE VULCANOs.
1783 was the co-incidence of this eruption with brutal colonial rule - in the first none-slaveholding country of Europe having ever reached democracy! All together it resulted in the lowest population level ever since the year 1200!
A hell of suffering …until, the steamship arrived, Mr. Linde invented the refrigerator and finally the Danish had to give up their colonial rule so terribly late ….
One can find impressive historical parallels between Iceland and Cape Verde when it comes to the history of starvation and cynism in colonial times. What did the Portuguese discuss when the drought of the 40th stroke? Sending the population to Brazil. The only problems was they would have had to ask the Brazilians and the Cape Verdians first like one should have asked the Jutlanders and Icelanders.
Is it really over?
At least Iceland is world-champion in reading. They are consuming more books per capita than any other nation.
Best regards
Pitt