Abusing Climate: The 1770s Anomaly and the First Partition of Poland–Lithuania

Abstract

Poland–Lithuania served as Europe’s grain basket for centuries, playing a vital role in feeding its neighbours during times of climatic adversity. However, its ecological abundance also attracted hostile intentions. In the early 1770s, the territory experienced a twin catastrophe: a deep political crisis coinciding with a severe climate anomaly. This paper examines the interaction between climate and conflict during a period typically analysed only from the perspective of political history. It aims to reconnect significant state events, such as civil war, occupation, and partition, with their socio-ecological context, including harvest failures, famine, and epidemics. This approach challenges deterministic simplifications of climate–conflict relations and emphasises the diverse range of human responses to climatic impacts, ranging from desperation to appropriation.

Keywords

• climate-conflict nexus
• climate history
• famine studies
• slow violence
• little ice age
• first partition of poland – lithuania