Born Then
1876–1878

Life during the Great Famine of 1876–1878

Be born in a place it hit, a few years before it began, and see what it did to five ordinary lives.

What it meant for ordinary people

Drought struck the Deccan, Madras and Mysore, and the colonial government kept relief minimal and grain moving to markets. Millions died of hunger and the diseases that followed. The multiplier is spread over all of India; in Madras and Mysore it was far higher.

Deaths: about 5.5 to 10 million in south and west India.

How hard it hits each person in the game (risk of death, of being conscripted, of leaving) comes from scholarly estimates.

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