Under a weak Sun at the Southern Rim of South America (1540-1650)

Abstract

Historical documents and archival records contain traces of the sun’s past cycles and activity because they interfere with earth’s climate, ecosystems and societies. Far from the human-agency controversy of the current global warming, in 1971, Emmanuel Le Roi Ladurie’s book made the strong argument that humans have always recorded climate fluctuations and past solar activity (although indirectly) when considering the ups and downs of prices of foodstuff, frost dates, natural disasters such as a persistent drought or an increase in the frequency of floods, and disruptions in daily life due to plagues, famines and pandemics. In the past, solar activity was registered in the records of agricultural yield, natural resources availability, environmental conditions, extreme weather and the overall wellbeing of animals and people.