Causes of the Great Chinese Famine Essay Example
Introduction
The Great Chinese Famine was the period in China during 1959-1961, in which poor economic policies produced the largest famine in human history . It can be clearly seen that massive agricultural policy changes during the “Great Leap Forward” were the key factor in causing the famine. As well as this, numerous secondary factors also increased the severity of the holocaust. The unfavourable weather during the Great Leap Forward intensified mass crop failures, contributing to the food shortage. Mao himself was the second major factor that escalated the scale of the famine, in his ignorance he had failed to realise the existence of the disaster and sacrificed millions in an attempt to make his policies seem successful. He chose to repay China’s debts ahead of schedule, and appallingly, maintained its status as a major exporter of grain, further reducing the already diminished food supply . Finally, over-reporting of crop production and ill distribution of food meant that the rural population were left with nothing to eat. The culmination of all these factors led to the starvation of the entirely country for “three bitter years” and killed directly up to 30 million people.
Body
The Great Leap forward is undeniably the primary cause of the Great Chinese Famine, this nationwide policy aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform mainland China from a primarily agricultural economy into an industrialized communist society . The weight of evidence suggests that this was a major economic disaster which significantly hindered China’s agriculture. Although it could be argued that by itself the Great Leap Forward could not have caused such a great disaster. There is no denial that it was the single biggest cause which led to the economic collapse of China and brought famine across the country. There were many factors of the Great Leap Forward that were of a major importance to the cause of the famine:
The Great Chinese Famine was the period in China during 1959-1961, in which poor economic policies produced the largest famine in human history . It can be clearly seen that massive agricultural policy changes during the “Great Leap Forward” were the key factor in causing the famine. As well as this, numerous secondary factors also increased the severity of the holocaust. The unfavourable weather during the Great Leap Forward intensified mass crop failures, contributing to the food shortage. Mao himself was the second major factor that escalated the scale of the famine, in his ignorance he had failed to realise the existence of the disaster and sacrificed millions in an attempt to make his policies seem successful. He chose to repay China’s debts ahead of schedule, and appallingly, maintained its status as a major exporter of grain, further reducing the already diminished food supply . Finally, over-reporting of crop production and ill distribution of food meant that the rural population were left with nothing to eat. The culmination of all these factors led to the starvation of the entirely country for “three bitter years” and killed directly up to 30 million people.
Body
The Great Leap forward is undeniably the primary cause of the Great Chinese Famine, this nationwide policy aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform mainland China from a primarily agricultural economy into an industrialized communist society . The weight of evidence suggests that this was a major economic disaster which significantly hindered China’s agriculture. Although it could be argued that by itself the Great Leap Forward could not have caused such a great disaster. There is no denial that it was the single biggest cause which led to the economic collapse of China and brought famine across the country. There were many factors of the Great Leap Forward that were of a major importance to the cause of the famine: