Which year in history had the highest ratio of non-natural deaths?
score:48
The actual year would be in prehistory, when the human population were more concentrated.
In terms of recorded history, the initial outbreak of the Plague of Justinian in 541 had an estimated death toll of 25 million. Most estimates of world population gives about ~200 million for the 6th century. The plague thus killed roughly 10-13% of the global population.
For reference, the 1918 flu pandemic killed perhaps 50-100 million. The global population at the time was about 1,860 million, however, so the ratio works out to be 2.7-5.4% of the total population.
A.D. 541 also have additional "advantages" in terms of higher infant, maternal, and child mortality were far higher in some parts of the world, relative to the industrialised nations of 1918.
Upvote:27
A bit of quick research tells me the worst in absolute terms almost has to be 1918.
There was a worldwide influenza epidemic that killed about 40 million people that year. That's the single biggest recorded death toll for a global pandemic in a single year in human history1.
There also happened to be one of the bloodiest wars in human history (in terms of sheer number of combat deaths) going on at the time. For most years, roughly 3 million combat deaths would be a huge deal. That year it wasn't even 10% of what the flu did.
Barring some new fast-moving pandemic, or a disaster of extinction-event proportions, that is liable to be the worst the human race will see for quite some time2. The number of deaths due to war is actually decreasing globally.
1 - The Black Death probably killed more people; perhaps as many as 200 million in Eurasia. But it took 6 years to work its way around Europe.
2 - Everyone reading this please go find some wood to knock on.
Upvote:36
70,000 BC
Analysis of the human genome has suggested that there was a choke-point in human history where the number of humans was drastically reduced.
Some believe that this was due to a single volcanic eruption occurring 70,000 years ago give or take.
According to this theory human population may have been reduced to just a few thousand breeding pairs.
Not sure if this meets your definition of 'non-natural' or of 'history' but no other event will have made the same ratio.
More post
- 📝 Why was Polish king Sigismund II Augustus' coronation held when his father Sigismund I was still alive?
- 📝 What % of slave owners in the antebellum south committed rape?
- 📝 Why did J. Edgar Hoover publicly deny the existence of the Mafia for so long?
- 📝 Why do central European nations use the color black as their national colors?
- 📝 What was the argument for the Japanese pursuing the Northern Expansion Doctrine during WWII?
- 📝 Which cannon could fired this Austrian brass shell case (Berndorf 1910 R)?
- 📝 Which war games did Napoleon practice with his generals?
- 📝 What historical evidence is there for the existence of Jesus Christ? What do we know about him?
- 📝 Is there a civilization that never believed in God in the ancient times?
- 📝 Are there any theories about what health problems would a man of the past suffer in the current age?
- 📝 Prior to 1963 did a British nobleman ever disclaim or renounce his title? What would have happened if someone had tried?
- 📝 What uniform is this man wearing (circa 1940's)?
- 📝 Are there examples of pre-industrial cruise ship?
- 📝 How did Gothic differ from Baroque architecture?
- 📝 Did the Olympics make the Star Spangled Banner the US national anthem?
- 📝 In WWII, what were the major differences in tank combat on the eastern and western fronts?
- 📝 Historically, what methods have irregular forces used to disable tanks?
- 📝 How would a musician travel from Venice to Dresden around 1700?
- 📝 What do the numbers on this 1960s anti-integration sign mean?
- 📝 Who is the person sitting to the left of corporal Hitler?
- 📝 During WW2, what B-29 crew role did the abbreviation EMG mean?
- 📝 Why are the capitals of central Asian countries right against the borders?
- 📝 Were German WWII-era U-Boat crews allowed on deck?
- 📝 How Much Did World War Two Cost Financially?
- 📝 How long to travel from Ireland or England in 1680 to Plymouth in the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
- 📝 What was up with "Alicorn" in the 1920's and 30's
- 📝 Is the Tokai Maru the ship that rescued many refugees from the 'Smyrna catastrophe' in 1922 or is it named Tokei Maru instead?
- 📝 What was the South actually afraid Lincoln or Congress would do that precipitated the Civil War?
- 📝 How did the monks whose job was to copy books react to Gutenberg's printing press?
- 📝 What evidence support the theory that the killing of unwanted children was practiced in ancient Athens?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Which year in history had the highest ratio of non-natural deaths?
- 📝 Which country in history has had the highest number of presidential assassinations?
- 📝 Which monarch had the longest break in their reign?
- 📝 How do I find the sources which determined the year of the fall of Babylon?
- 📝 Which single-car accident in history caused the most deaths?
- 📝 After the American Civil War, which states had the most problems with rejoining the Union?
- 📝 Which tax year was used to identify former Confederates belonging to the $20,000 exception of the 1865 Amnesty Proclamation?
- 📝 When was the deadliest year in human history in absolute terms?
- 📝 When was the last time the US had the highest GDP per capita?
- 📝 Which city has had the most name changes?
- 📝 Which ship sank and made the news for its chaotic evacuation around the year 1912?
- 📝 Which 'march across the ice' had comparatively the most casualties?
- 📝 Which head of state had the most gaps in their rule?
- 📝 Were there cases where an ethnic newspaper had the highest circulation in a country?
- 📝 Which lover of a Russian Empress obtained the highest rank?
- 📝 Which factors led to the different casualty ratio betwen British and German forces during the Battle of Normandy?
- 📝 By which year did smiths achieve the ability to handle metal in an exact way that's necessary for the printing press?
- 📝 Are there any images within the time period of contemporary history (1945 to the present) that had different interpretations by historians?
- 📝 In which year of the post-WWII Occupation of Japan was the Imperial Rescript on Education repealed?
- 📝 Which year was the first leap year?
- 📝 Which European nation had the most kings in the 18th century?
- 📝 In which instances in history did an attacker ask the attackee to borrow some of their ammunition in order to continue the fight?
- 📝 Was the year 2000 a really peaceful time in history for the West?
- 📝 Is history always written by the victors?
- 📝 How did 300,000 people survive the 3 1/2 year siege of Sarajevo?
- 📝 Has the United States ever had a non-Christian President?
- 📝 Why was the Japanese Army's fatalities inflicted:suffered ratio so low in the Pacific theatre?
- 📝 Why didn't Japan take Pearl Harbor when they had the chance?
- 📝 Which countries (or comparable geographical units) have a lower population now than they used to at some point in history before 1950?
- 📝 What is the highest number of brothers who became ruler of the same country?