Catch Up

Ah, a moment to play catch-up!

Since I posted about Mt. Tambora's 1815 eruption, I have managed to find new information.
Such a tragedy!

I also managed to purchase another of the German hunger relief medals.
So I now have the silvered medal in great shape.
And I found the fob version of the medal at a shop in Salzburg two weeks ago.
But it is not silvered and has none of the fob hanger attachments!
Also obviously a dug item.
Detail is like new but with green crusties.
So it will take so work to remove said crusties and then silver plate.

I intend to carry this with me always
As I mentioned in my article, researching this has affected me greatly.
Just the thought of the suffering of those where I grew up!

And as I have since found out:

The famine was very wide spread.
Ireland, Wales, England, Belgium, Holland, Germany,Austria and Switzerland, not to even consider the Russia's - whose people could not have understood what had happened!.
In Germany there were wide spread food riots.
 But it seems that these riots were started when the rumor spread that the Bavarian Prince had sent the grain reserves to Switzerland!
I am sure Switzerland would have been grateful, but there was no grain reserves!
You can probably blame beer brewing!
Villagers were down to attacking passing horses and carving chucks off of them!
Such desperation!

In 1816 and 1817 there was massive immigration to America from the affected countries.
Can't really blame starving people!

And I NEVER read any of this in any history book!
Nothing on the famine, nothing on the riots, nothing on causes of immigration to America ......

Yet, were this common knowledge, then this whole stupidity being espoused by Al Gore, et al, would be seen for the brainless Chicken Little reactionism it is!

Sigh .....

But, even understanding that the Earth has gone through devastating climate change and somehow survived, no one will care.
It does not fit with the desired scenario scripted by the reactionaries.

Sigh .....

And, while researching further, I found a one line mention of a hunger releif effort by the German 11th Army!
No date, no place, nother!
Just that the 11th Army had performed some type of food relief!
Were my German not so bad now, perhaps there is more to be found?

Yeah, I feel quite lost at times ....