The Eruption of Mount Tambora and The Agricultural Production in Taiwan and China from 1815 to 1817: Perspectives from Adaptation and Long-Term Measures (Presenting Remotely)

• In Event: Studying Nature

Abstract

This paper investigates the historical backgrounds of the agricultural production conditions in Taiwan and Yunnan province of China when encountering the adverse weather pattern caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora from 1815 to 1817. Primary sources and second-hand data demonstrate related details.
Although suffering from unprecedented snow and frost disasters, Taiwan’s rice harvest was growing positively. The reasons could contribute to the pre-existing long-term approaches. First, the immigrants from mainland China became labor forces because of the social and political instabilities from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Afterward, they occupied the lands and focused on rice production. Second, those immigrants also introduced various rice forms and advanced growing methods, increasing the efficiency of rice production. The above factors became indispensable in sustaining rice growth when unfavorable weather happened from 1815 to 1816.
In contrast to Taiwan’s case study, Yunnan province in China encountered low temperatures during the same period because of the Mount Tambora eruption. Nevertheless, neither citizens nor authorities tried to enforce related adaptation methods to ensure rice production growth. Moreover, no significant pre-existing methods in the agricultural sector reacted to this event. Afterward, the area experienced severe harvest failure, and famine prevailed among the residents. This condition caused a significant decline in labor participation in agricultural production; to make matters worse, the distant location of Yunnan province restricted the government from investigating the actual phenomenon and providing additional labor.
The conclusion suggests that the proper adaptation and long-term approaches were indispensable for countries’ agricultural sectors when facing disadvantageous climatic shocks. In contrast, unfavorable consequence, such as harvest failure, could become enormous.

Author

• YU-CHIEN JEN, University of Carlos III, Madrid