2016 - The Worst Year Ever?
2016. Apparently, this has been hailed as the worst year. Ever. Well, it’s certainly not been a boring one – we’ve seen seismic political change, a great number of notable deaths, Harambe (a gorilla that changed everything) and the Man Bun (yesterday, I saw a woman walk down the High Street with Rollers still in her hair – I wonder if this will be the next big thing in 2017?). It’s almost been like watching an interesting episode of Black Mirror.
Some historians, however, are inclined to disagree with 2016 being the worst year ever. They would say that actually we’ve had it a lot worse and that 2016 doesn’t even come close. To be fair, they do have a point, some years have definitely been far worse than this one. The following events are a sobering reminder of this and should help us to put things into perspective. As your grandparents would probably tell you, you don’t know you’re born.….
- 1346 to 1353: The Black Death - It’s one of those things that, like Kylie, doesn’t need an introduction. In England, a whopping 1.5 million people (out of a population of 4 million) died. In addition, 200 million people in Europe and Asia were also killed.
- 1665: The Great Plague, London - Yet another thing that practically announces itself. In this outbreak, 6,000 people died - in one week alone - when the infection rates peaked in the summer.
- 1666: The Great Fire of London - By this point, Londoners must have felt like they had really upset someone badly because after only just experiencing The Great Plague, they had a massive fire to put out. Even though it’s believed that only six people died, much of medieval London, including the old and great St. Paul’s Cathedral, was destroyed. Just devastating.
- 1914: In the opinion of Paul Lay, editor of History Today, this was possibly the worst year in history – “In July of that year, a European order that had brought peace, prosperity and extraordinary artistic and scientific progress, began to unravel. The vast conflict that followed led directly to the Russian Revolution, Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, the atomic bomb, the Cold War and the mess that is the modern Middle East. Only in 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, did we enter a relatively stable period – the ‘End of History’ – before it came crashing down on September 11th, 2001.”
- 1916: The Battle of the Somme - In this battle of World War 1, 19,240 British Soldiers were killed and 38,238 were injured – and that was just on the first day.
- 1918 – As if four, long years of war wasn’t bad enough, there was also the influenza pandemic. This killed more people than WW1, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe", it has been called the most devastating epidemic recorded in world history.
- 1939 to 1945: During World War 2, 60 million people lost their lives.
- 1942 and 1943: During these two years in World War 2, the Holocaust reached its peak.
Yes, we definitely don’t know we’re born, there’s no doubt about that. And that’s just a few suggestions for the contender of worse year/period of history and doesn’t include many other turbulent periods experienced in, for example, US history.
I can’t guarantee that 2017 will be a slightly better year, in the same way that we couldn’t guarantee that 2016, or 2015 would be great years. However, if there is one New Year Resolution that you should make, it is to remember that, as we have seen in history, there are some things in life that can be controlled and there are some that can’t; remember the things you do have control over in your life and don’t worry about the things that you can’t.
In addition, I would also advise the following to consider as New Year Resolutions. These are things that you as amateur historians are already aware of (and I don’t need to tell you these things!), but these are important things nevertheless that could be suggested to friends and relatives and can be applied to anything in life as well as studying historical events and people..…..
- Don’t worry about things that haven’t even happened yet. No one truly knows what is around the corner. Sometimes truth is a lot stranger than fiction. Yes, history does have a tendency to repeat itself, but also the extraordinary and unprecedented has happened which no one could have foreseen. For example, when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church, this did leave much uncertainty. However, things did eventually calm down.
- There are always two sides to every story. We’ve already seen this with many characters from the Tudor and Medieval period, such as Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford and Richard III. As the famous saying goes “Be kind to everyone because everyone is fighting a battle that you’re not aware of” – this applies to both people you know in the present and the people you read about from the past.
- Always question what you read. Again, as an amateur historian, you already know that some sources are more reliable than others. This can also be applied to the media, because, for example, some newspapers are more reliable sources of news than others. If I want a serious news story, I would rather read The Guardian, or watch BBC news, as opposed to reading the Daily Star. Take everything you hear at first with a pinch of salt before you conclude if it is actual fact, an exaggeration, or just hearsay, in the same way that Anne Boleyn’s story has always needed special scrutiny. As Anne herself one said “If any person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best.”
- Please don’t fall out with your friends and relatives over their opinions. On history forums, arguments tend to break out over a clash of opposing views, over people such as the Boleyns, Richard III, Henry VIII, or Katherine Howard. As with all arguments, whether it be about an historical figure, or anything else in life, please always be prepared to hear their views. Please don’t stop talking to people all because they share different views to you. In some extreme cases, people have been blocked/unfriended on social media, ignored, or people have just stopped associating with them. That’s actually the last thing you should do. Have an open discussion with them and listen to what they have to say. Again, as mentioned before, there are always two sides to every story.
Have a happy 2017!
Image - The Old St. Paul's Cathedral that was destroyed during The Great Fire of London, 1666.
