Climate Change
The General Crisis overlaps fairly neatly with the so-called Little Ice Age which some authorities locate in the 17th century. Of particular interest is the overlap with the Maunder Minimum. Across the Northern Hemisphere, the mid-17th century experienced almost unprecedented death rates. Parker suggests that environmental factors may have been in part to blame, especially global cooling. A global phenomenon of this sort would go a long way towards explaining the seemingly universal state of warfare and decline in the mid 17th century.
Read more about this topic: The General Crisis
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