1. The Little Ice Age Leslea Pedersen History 141 September 23, 2009 Dr. Michael Arguello

3. Causes of the Little Ice Age (LIA) are thought to be either a major increase in volcanic activity, a decrease in the sun’s radiation, or a change in the worldwide circulation of the ocean’s “conveyor belt.”

4. The LIA came after a warmer climate trend known as the Medieval Warm Period. The LIA was not a true ice age according to some scientists.

5. Areas affected by LIA were agriculture, health, economics, social strife, emigration, art & literature.

7. People were puzzled about the cause of the LIA and many believed it to be by some evil force. Thus,people were burned for witchcraft. Mass hysteria was a problem.

8. The Vikings living in Greenland were hit hard. The land was no longer able to support livestock, the cod they ate moved south. The ocean clogged with ice.

9. The League of the Iroquois enacted in the 1500s is a result of Iroquois migration in search of warmer weather. This was a non-aggression pact.

11. During this time the potato from the Andes was introduced. At first thought to be the devil’s plant, it later was an agricultural revolution & saved lives, except in France.

12. France’s wine production stopped as grapes died out. Beer & hard liquor became more prominent & was thus introduced to N. America by European emigrants.

13. There’s a theory the LIA caused the wood of the trees in the Italian Alps to grow more dense & this was the wood used by Stradivari to craft 650 of the world’s finest violins.