Countdown: The top 10 deadliest manmade events in history

As described in

Atrocities:

The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History.


10. Atlantic Slave Trade (1452-1807)

Death Toll: 16 million

Someone's got to do the dirty work.


9. Tamerlane (Central Asia 1370-1405)

Death Toll: 17 million

A Mongol warlord tried a bit too hard to be like Genghis Khan.


8. Mideast Slave Trade (ca. 700-1900)

Death Toll: 19 million

It wasn't really like this.


7. Stalin (Soviet Union 1928-53)

Death Toll: 20 million

The second most evil moustache in history.


6. Taiping Rebellion (China 1850-64)

Death Toll: 20 million

A messianic uprising of Chinese Christians.


5. Fall of the Ming Dynasty (China 1635-62)

Death Toll: 25 million

The pinnacle of Chinese civilization succumbed to internal rebellion and external invaders.


4. Famines in British India (1769, 1876, 1896, 1943)

Death Toll: 27 million

Colonial policies badly messed up India.


3. Mao Zedong (China 1949-75)

Death Toll: 40 million

Communist policies badly messed up China.


2. Genghis Khan (Asia 1206-27)

Death Toll: 40 million

The Mongols decides that the world would be a lot better place without all those damn foreigners.


1. Second World War (Worldwide 1939-45)

Death Toll: 65 million

Germany and Japan decide that the world would be a lot better place without all those damn foreigners.



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Copyright © 2012 Matthew White