Late Victorian Holocausts
by Mike Davis · first published 2001
17mentions
8recommended by
14HN commenters
2011–2025first – last mentioned
57% recommend43% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that colonial policies, market priorities and relief failures turned El Niño droughts into mass famines. Well-sourced, offering a resource for readers interested in famine and colonialism.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Narrator: James Patrick Cronin
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…by a British historian of which you'll find countless in your library have the same basic point of view. Opposing viewpoints are not hard to find if you actually take the time to look. See Mike Davis' Late victorian holocausts and the making of the third world which I think is the best explanation of why the differences between east and west are now so great. Or R.C.Dutt's "Early economic history of the british empire". It's…
on “Is There Anything Good About Men?” ↗Answer: Probabaly higher than yours because only only low class people ask crass questions. Here's the book to actually understand India:- "Late victorian holocausts and the making of the third world". http://www.amazon.com/Late-Victorian-Holocausts-Famines-Maki... As Nehru and others had observed, poverty in India is highly correlated with the length of British…
on “Fighting to Shut Out the Real India” ↗Mike Davis (author of Late Victorian Holocausts) had a great interview on the podcast Trueanon about California fire policy. While the fire situation is definitely exacerbated by global warming, there are tons of state level land management policies…
on “Fire Slow, Fire Fast, Fire Deep (2016)” ↗To add, I recommend the book "Late Victorian Holocausts" by Mike Davis for readers interested about famines.
on “As crops rot, millions go hungry in India” ↗Related, RIP Mike Davis, author of this article. Highly recommend reading some of his books, my favorite being Late Victorian Holocausts which discusses famine in relation to colonialism.
on “The case for letting Malibu burn (1995)” ↗"Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World" is a great book by Mike Davis about similar famines in the late 19th century caused by colonial powers putting profits and the sanctity of markets above…
on “What made the Irish famine so deadly” ↗This discussion is a relevant time to recommend the fantastic book called "Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World" by the indomitable late Mike Davis.
on “What made the Irish famine so deadly” ↗…building of railways and ports (which were used to export food out of famine stricken areas for profit); and laissez faire relief policies. The death toll was in the millions. I found Mike Davis’ book Late Victorian Holocausts to be a good resource on this subject.
on “China's 200M gig workers are a warning for the world” ↗…Stalin killed more people? I suppose there is a minimum number in millions that must die to be considered a terrible person? You should read up on the relish Churchill took in killing "savages". Read Late Victorian Holocausts too.
on “At 83, I Decided to Develop an App” ↗…million Indians starved. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_major_famines_in_I... The British shot Indians caught trying to steal food from the docks. Mike Davis is the author who called it "Late Victorian Holocausts" referenced in the article. http://www.versobooks.com/books/150-late-victorian-holocaust...
on “Luck of the English: A new history shatters myths about an extraordinary nation” ↗…compelled farmers to produce for foreign consumption at the price of their own food security.By the turn of the century, India was supplying nearly a fifth of Britain's wheat consumption. References 1. Late Victorian Holocausts: El nino famines and the making of the third world - Mike Davis 2. An economic history of India - Dietmar Rothermund 3. The international gold standard: Money and Empire - Marcello De Cecco
on “A Dust Over India” ↗While it's not quite Industrial Revolution the late 19th C saw China & South America get hit by El Nino floods. & drought. > Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World is a book by Mike Davis about the connection between political economy and global climate patterns, particularly El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).…
on “Why the Industrial Revolution Didn’t Happen in China” ↗There is also an estimate of 50 million dead as a result of starvation as a consequence of the colonial invasions of China in the late 19th C See Mike Davis' Late Victorian Holocausts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Victorian_Holocausts
Has anyone read Late Victorian Holocausts, a full exposition of this argument? It's important if true. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Victorian_Holocausts
on “British colonialism killed 100M Indians in 40 years” ↗https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Victorian_Holocausts "The book's main conclusion is that the deaths of 30–60 million people killed in famines all over the world during the later part of the 19th century were caused by laissez faire and Malthusian economic…
on “Palmer Luckey: The Facebook Fat Cat Secretly Funding Trump’s Meme Machine” ↗