Enlightenment · Europe · Exploration
1709
The Great Frost of 1709
January 6, 1709
The coldest winter in five hundred European years froze the Venetian lagoon, split oaks in Sweden, and killed half the olive trees of Provence. French peasants starved; bread riots stalked Paris. Some historians argue the Grand Hiver hastened the Sun King's collapse as surely as any English regiment. Rivers from the Rhine to the Ebro froze solid, and Baltic ports did not thaw until May.
In context
Also in 1709 (3 other events on record)
- Abraham Darby Smelts Iron with Coke · Europe · Science
- Battle of Poltava · Europe · War
- Battle of Malplaquet · Europe · War
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Exploration
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.