Born ThenLife in the 14th century
Be born somewhere between 1300 and 1399, weighted by real births, and live five lives from that year on.
The numbers
The world had about 391 million people around the middle of the 14th century. Life expectancy at birth was near 24 years, mostly because so many children died; people who reached adulthood often lived into their fifties or sixties. About 5% could read and 8% lived in towns. Most births happened in North India (15%), South China (13%), South India and Sri Lanka (8%), North China (6%), West Africa (5%).
All numbers before 1800 are modelled from long-run population and life-expectancy estimates by region. How it works
What happened
- Indian Ocean slave trade 700–1799
- Thule migration across the Arctic 1200–1300
- Rise of Great Zimbabwe 1200–1450
- Polynesian settlement of New Zealand 1250–1300
- Great Famine of 1315–1317 1315–1317
- Hundred Years' War 1337–1453
- Black Death 1346–1353
- Return of the plague 1360–1400
- Conquests of Timur 1381–1405
- Timur's sack of Delhi 1398–1399