A Forgotten Drought and Famine in East Africa, 1883–1885

Abstract

In East Africa, the 1883–1885 drought and famine was a key historical event, yet to be analyzed in depth. The drought had a devastating impact, coinciding with the beginnings of colonial rule, and foreshadowing the environmental collapse of the 1890s. It hit eastern and central regions of modern Tanzania and Kenya particularly hard. It led to a crisis in food production, and also severely disrupted the long-distance caravan trade. The inhabitants of the worst affected localities experienced starvation, and many people migrated to less affected areas. Increased poverty and marginalization contributed to indebtedness and enslavement. The immediate cause was the failure of the rains during the 1883–1884 growing seasons, however, recent scientific research allows a deeper understanding of climate change in the region. It is argued that changes in sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean due to the effects of the Krakatoa eruption underlay the crisis.