Colonial disasters

Question 1

What are the key aspects to look at when analyzing disasters?

Answer 1

• outcome; short term/long term; (e.g. people dying; destruction of infrastructure and capital; environment affected;) –> makes us define it as a disaster (tsunami that affected no-one wouldn’t be called a disaster)
• hazard; biological/tectonical/hydrological (e.g. toxic gases, tsunami, tornado, nuclear powerplant etc.)
• people affected
• time (sudden/see them coming?)
• Responsibility; framing as “natural disaster” in public discourse but there is always a social component
• social vulnerability (e.g. poverty; power relation - gender, race etc. -, infrastructure…) –> determines impact
• adaptation
• disaster relief

Question 2

What are the essential features of a drought?

Answer 2

• definition: “unusual dry period resulting in shortage of water”
• “creeping hazard”; develops slowly
• social vulnerability extremely important; e.g. national wealth
• rainfall reliability more important than absolute amounts
• important to view water shortage in terms of need rather than absolute amounts
• more complicated than cause and effect!

Question 3

name 4 different kinds of drought

Answer 3

1. Meteorological drought:
   - least severe form
   - rainfall deficit
   - not necessarily dangerous
2. Hydrological drought
   - ground water levels sinking
   - natural streams carry less water
   - water supply not as big as water demand (e.g. Day zero)
3. Agricultural drought
   - soil moisture not enough to grow the average amount of crops –> very dangerous
4. Famine drought
   - extreme form of agricultural drought
   - food security collapses
   - people die

Question 4

What are factors causing a drought?

Answer 4

physical
- El nino and El nina events; changing drastically with climate crisis; frequency and amplitude of extreme events increases drastically in last 50-60 years

human
- population density
- reliance of rain-fed agriculture
- increased pressure on land: soil erosion and degradation
- poverty

Question 5

What are some examples of mitigation and protection in the context of droughts?

Answer 5

• food-aid: short-term solution with pitfalls (how to target those in need?)
• controlling the environment: artificial stimulation of rainfall
• additional supply of water (e.g. by drilling new boreholes)
• “tech-fix” solutions: dams and pipelines
• community preparedness, e.g. diversification of agriculture (drought-resistant crops, diverse herds, etc.)
• predictions, forecasts, warnings

Question 6

What do most famine victims die from?

Answer 6

• minority directly starves
• most die of diseases as a result of the famine (weak immune systems, less hygiene, fleeing…)
• very deadly hazard compared to other hazards (e.g. earthquakes)

Question 7

give a broad overview which regions were most affected by famines when

Answer 7

• Until WW1: colonial period; most of the biggest famines happened in colonial context (especially India)
• Famines during the WWs and interwar period: focus shifts from colonies to Europe and soviet union; most famines as a direct result of the world wars
• After WW2 until 90s: most famines happened in authoritarian regimes; China, Cambodia, North Korea
• After that: most famines in sub Saharan Africa (historically marginal role of Africa in famines; drastic situation recently)

–> overall Asia most affected

Question 8

What does Armatya Sen say about famines?

Answer 8

Democracy helps protect people from famines
- more equal societies
- free speech
- welfare systems
- have to look after people if you want to be reelected
- transparency of information –> can catch famines creeping up –> prevention and mitigation possible

Question 9

Describe the colonial famine in India in 1876

Answer 9

• estimated mortality between 6.1 and 10.3 million (hard to estimate deaths if you don’t know how many people lived there; hard to define who counts as dying from the famine)
• epicenter in the south of India
• monsoon had failed the year before –> harvests way below average
• food security already reduced because many food crops had been replaced with cash crops (e.g. poppy seeds, cotton production moved to India because of civil war in North America)
• in other parts of India food harvest above average; surplus exported

Question 10

Why did the food exports increase in the year of the famine?

Answer 10

• opening of Suez Canal
• railway network through India
  –> faster and cheaper transportation –> export more profitable
• warehouses (protected by army) in the epicenter of the famine filled with grains –> retailers seeing food crisis as business opportunity –> rising prices

Question 11

Was the famine documented?

Answer 11

journalists and photographers intending to raise awareness in Europe and accuse the colonial regime of mismanagement –> ethical questions of documentation

Question 12

Could the famine have been prevented?

Answer 12

• same British man who managed famines before with less deaths but more expenses –> criticized –> changed his approach –> more people died
• there were other droughts with similar severity and less deaths
• social vulnerability was high (bad management by the government; cash crops over food crops; tax burden)

Question 13

Why are commons important in the context of droughts?

Answer 13

• land that belongs to no one but the community e.g. forests, rivers etc.
• can find alternative sources when your own crops fail
• during 19th century British privatized more and more commons –> no access for peasants