CatastropheThe 15th century

Catastrophe in the 15th century

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged catastrophe — plague, famine, earthquake and other disasters, narrowed to the 15th century — 3 of them, drawn from 3 nations, running from 1408 to 1450. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
3
Nations
3
Earliest
1408
Latest
1450
Africa
1
Europe
1
North America
1

Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

  1. North America

    Greenland

    The Norse settlements vanish

    A wedding at Hvalsey Church in 1408 is the last dated record of Norse Greenland; the Eastern Settlement was abandoned within decades, the colony's disappearance still debated and linked to the Little Ice Age.

    Era: Erik the Red and the Norse Colony

    Sources: Greenland: History · Encyclopædia Britannica, Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap · UNESCO World Heritage Centre

  2. Europe

    Netherlands

    St. Elizabeth's flood

    A storm surge breaks the dikes of the Grote Hollandse Waard, drowning villages and thousands of people and creating the Biesbosch wetlands.

    Era: Burgundian and Habsburg Rule

    Sources: St. Elizabeth's flood · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Rijksmuseum collection and the Dutch Golden Age · Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

  3. Africa

    Zimbabwe

    Decline and abandonment

    Great Zimbabwe was abandoned, probably owing to resource exhaustion and shifting trade routes, as the centre of power moved north toward the Zambezi and successor states.

    Era: Great Zimbabwe and the gold trade

    Sources: Great Zimbabwe · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Great Zimbabwe · Wikipedia, Zimbabwe: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica