The Event that Caused the Most Damage to Humanity?

[Odin]

The extinction of Neaderthals by Cro-Magnons. (I feel particulary guilty of this because, acourding to Mitochondrial DNA genetic studies, the ancestors of Scandinavians and and some ancient Britons, like Cheddar man, were the first people in Europe; arriving 45,000 years ago from Asia Minor then going north from the Balkans across E. Europe into Scandinavia) We didn't intentionally kill them, I think, but our thirst for hunting grounds led to us driving then into the mountains, where they starved.

[Urban Ranger]

The Japanese invasion and occupation of East and South East Asia 1930 - 1945.

[Ramo]

The plague was the real ignition. The sudden drop in population led to a huge demand for labor. The labor demand led to increased wages, which increased the standard of living. The rise of wealth in post-plague Europe was led to the Renaissance.

That's a pretty questionable assertion. The Renaissance started in a trade-orientated, city-dominated economy (Italy). As such, there was no real disparity in rates of death between workers and owners that you'd see in a more rural area, thus no real increases in the wages of workers. Furthermore, the Black Death hit trade pretty badly.

OTOH, in places like England and France, while there were increases in the wages of peasants, the state had been artificially suppressing these wages by enserfing villeins (in the previous century, serfdom was dying fairly rapidly, but the Black Death changed that).

I'd say that if you're going to attribute the Renaissance to a single thing, it'd be the Crusades (well, that's not a "single thing," but what is? ).

[Imran Siddiqui]

I'd say that if you're going to attribute the Renaissance to a single thing, it'd be the Crusades

Well, indirectly anyway . The Italians were smart enough to be, well, cosmopolitan. Of course, it was naturally Italian to be that way, since they had to coexist with Arabs in Sicily, Greeks in Naples and Apulia, and a whole host of ethnicities in the North.

It was Italy that was best receptive to Arab coming from North Africa. Another reason why trade is good .

As for the event that caused the most damage.... hmmm... this may not be an event, but I'll throw Genghis Khan's hordes coming out from Mongolia into the mix.

Christianity destroyed much of the knowledge and the works of the Roman Empire; Islam did the same to the Persian Empire.

Islamic tribes were very pro education. It was they who preserved Roman education when the Christians were burning books. Don't worry, they saved Persian works as well.

[PLATO]

No one has mentioned the great plague. 2 out of every 3 people in Europe died as a result.

I also think that the library in Alexandria was a major setback.

The sacking of Rome being the end of the important event: The fall of the Roman Empire.

If I had to pick one...it would be the fall of Rome. It took European civilization close to 1000 years to fully recover.

[Jon Miller]

I hope that some of yuo are just being silly

becuase otherwise

Jon Miller

[Lord Merciless]

Nobody mentioned Mongol rampages across the Eurasian continent, and that of their of ancestors, the Huns.

The damages caused by these barbarians to the civilization were unmeasureable.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Nobody mentioned Mongol rampages across the Eurasian continent

I did ... and only 2 posts above yours.

[Lord Merciless]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Nobody mentioned Mongol rampages across the Eurasian continent

I did ... and only 2 posts above yours.

Yours is buried among a pile of other texts.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well there is this new thing called reading .

[Panag]

hi ,

the Shoah

have a nice day

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Lord Merciless
Nobody mentioned Mongol rampages across the Eurasian continent, and that of their of ancestors, the Huns.

The damages caused by these barbarians to the civilization were unmeasureable.

They didn't do much damage in terms of destruction of either knowledge or human life.

[MRT144]

creation of israel
creation of "the bomb"

[Jeltz]

WW2 of course, but if you want single events, Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be quite high on my list.

[Panag]

Originally posted by MRT144
creation of israel
creation of "the bomb"

hi ,

how can the creation of Israel be related to the topic , .....

bye