Great Famine of 1876–1878
Famine in India under Crown rule
Summary
The Great Famine of 1876–1878 was a famine in India under British Crown rule. It began in 1876 after an intense drought resulted in crop failure in the Deccan Plateau. The famine is also known as the Southern India famine of 1876–1878 and the Madras famine of 1877.
Originally created by Fowler&fowler
5/23/2008, 9:40:19 PM
Modified
6/3/2026, 4:40:06 PM
Recent revisions
rv sock
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/* Aftermath */ lead.
/* Preceding events */ +link
Undid revision [[Special:Diff/1355570162|1355570162]] by [[Special:Contributions/~2026-30751-16|~2026-30751-16]] ([[User talk:~2026-30751-16|talk]]) unsourced additions. please see [[WP:V]]
A label like genocide might need stronger sourcing
/* top */ | caption = 1885 map delimiting [[British Indian Empire]] regions affected by various famines since 1802: red for the Great Famine of 1876–1878.
/* Aftermath */ Cleaned up sentence.
Tightened up the sentence.
Reverted edit by [[Special:Contribs/~2026-21491-79|~2026-21491-79]] ([[User talk:~2026-21491-79|talk]]) to last version by P-author
Undid revision [[Special:Diff/1344461880|1344461880]] by [[Special:Contributions/P-author|P-author]] ([[User talk:P-author|talk]])
/* References */Removed parent category of [[Category:Disasters in Tamil Nadu]]
/* References */Removed parent category of [[Category:Disasters in Andhra Pradesh]]
added [[Category:Disasters in Karnataka]] using [[WP:HC|HotCat]]
removed [[Category:History of Karnataka]]; added [[Category:Economic history of Karnataka]] using [[WP:HC|HotCat]]
Added critical context to summary
To cite the causes of this famine as purely natural events reinforces a lie told for frequently by colonists, that native populations fluctuate in accordance with natural cycles, e.g. Malthusian Trap. Such a narrative is acceptable to explain changes to the populations of beasts, but not the deaths of up to 9m people living in a horrifically mismanaged colony, where exports continued. This was not the only famine of its kind under British rule, and this famine meets the requirements laid out...
