10 Moments in History Where the Most People Died

10 Moments in History Where the Most People Died

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at some events in human history with the highest death tolls.

Second Sino-Japanese War

(1937-45)
While many think of events in Europe in the lead-up to World War II, what happened in the East was just as detrimental. Japan and China had been locked in a series of conflicts with one another following the 1931 invasion of Manchuria. Things escalated in 1937 when Japan officially invaded and took Nanjing, perpetrating a massacre along with it. The Second-Sino Japanese war was extremely bloody, leading to an excess of deaths. Many were caused by chemical and biological warfare, ranging from gas to fleas infected with the Bubonic plague. Although the exact numbers aren’t known, some experts have estimated that 20,000,000 died during the eight year conflict, with the majority on the Chinese side.

The Qing Dynasty Conquest of the Ming Dynasty

(1618-83)
One group maintaining power for centuries doesn’t make them indestructible. The Ming dynasty ruled for centuries in China, but they still eventually fell to the up and coming Qing line. The transfer of power took decades, with several battles happening in the interim that helped lead to an estimated 25 million fatalities. Several massacres were carried out, leading to the devastation of whole provinces. One rebel alone is attributed with killing between 600,000 and six million civilians. Combat wasn’t the only contributing factor when it came to fatalities – disease and famine also caused it to increase drastically. Although the Qing ultimately came out on top, they would meet a similar end in 1912 – proving just how cyclical history is.

Plague of Justinian

(541-49)
Yersinia pestis has been one of the most insidious killers in human history, having caused several plagues throughout human history. The Plague of Justinian began in 541 AD, and quickly swept throughout the entire Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and both the Sasanian and Byzantine Empires. One historian, Procopius, claimed that so many were dying in Constantinople that they couldn’t all be buried, leading them to be stacked on top of one another. He also asserted that ten thousand people were dying per day in the Byzantine Empire alone, with an overall death toll that ranged from 15 to 100 million. While the exact amount hasn’t been – and may never be – confirmed, it was still a sign of the damage the disease would cause in the future.

Spanish Flu

(1918-20)
Disease is horrible enough on its own, but it becomes downright horrific when it spreads across the globe in just a couple of years. The Spanish Flu first broke out in the United States in 1918. By 1920, over ⅓ of the world had been infected, with tens of millions succumbing to the illness. World War I didn’t help, with overcrowded medical camps and poor hygiene exacerbating the spread. Larger countries, such as India, lost about 5% of their population to the illness. After several waves and an estimated mortality rate as high as 100 million, things finally began to settle down in 1920. Although we haven’t completely eradicated the flu, vaccines have helped ensure that it doesn’t reach that level.

An Lushan Rebellion

(755-763)
What started out as an attempt to overthrow the Tang government in one area of China escalated into an all-out, multi-year civil war. It began in 755, with the rogue Yan dynasty vying for power. With An Lushan at the helm, they invaded several areas, causing mass loss. Several leaders, including Lushan, met their own grisly deaths, but it didn’t do much to end their efforts. The conflict raged on for eight years, with the Tang dynasty coming out on top. Later censuses revealed that the population had dropped from almost 53 million in 755 to just under 17 million in 764. Natural citizens weren’t the only ones affected – several foreign merchants were targeted, and a massacre was ordered against West Asian Sogdians.

World War I

(1914-18)
When practically the entire world is engaged in a battle, there’s bound to be a high death rate, but the final results from World War I are still shocking to see. Breaking out in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, World War I soon proved to be different from any other fought before it. The use of high-powered weaponry and trench warfare made taking lives far easier, causing the mortality rate to skyrocket. As many as 22 million people died, with a majority being lost in battle. When things finally came to a close in 1918, no one at the time could’ve guessed they’d be back in the same position just over twenty years later.

Great Chinese Famine

(1959-61)
It may have only spanned two years, but it’s still one of the deadliest and cruelest events in modern history. Mao Zedong’s controversial Great Leap Forward had several policies that led to the mass famine, including a poor distribution of food and ordering many people to work in iron and steel production, rather than farming. This led to a widespread food shortage that forced people to take desperate measures, including eating soil, grass, and in some cases, even other humans. Several estimates of deaths have been made, with one source asserting that 55 million people perished as a result of the famine, making it one of the worst man-made disasters to date.

Black Death

(1346-53)
When the aforementioned Yersinia pestis ravaged ancient empires, none could’ve guessed it would continue to rear its ugly head throughout history. One of the worst instances occurred in the 1300s. Trading culture at the time made transmission much easier, with rats and fleas being two of the biggest suspected carriers of the disease. The exact numbers aren’t known, but several guesses have been made. Europe took the biggest hit, with 30-60% of their population succumbing to the disease. This led to mass burials taking place, some of which consisted of thousands of bodies. Some Italian cities were so greatly affected that they didn’t regain their lost population until the 19th century, proving just how detrimental the bacteria truly was.

New World Smallpox

(1520-1600s)
The colonization of the Americas was disastrous for Indigenous populations for several reasons. One of the worst was their sudden exposure to diseases they’d never been in contact with before. Their lack of natural immunity made the contraction of diseases like smallpox much easier – and much more deadly. Some tribes were so heavily affected that they faced total extinction. Iroquois tribes in Quebec suffered through a staggering twenty-four epidemics, nearly all of which were caused by smallpox. Some settlers were aware of the effects. One commander even gave infected items as a gift, with the hope of Indigenous people contracting it. To this day, remaining communities have never received an apology for the deaths inflicted upon them through contagion.

World War II

(1939-45)
World War I was extremely violent, but the hate-fuelled cruelty in the following global war was somehow even worse. Leaders like Mussolini and Hitler both fanned the flames of brutality, resulting in an assumed total of 70-85 million individuals perishing on all sides. Civilian deaths vastly outnumbered military ones. From Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor to the United States’ retaliation with nuclear weaponry, several countries went to extreme lengths. The most horrific event by far was the Holocaust, a mass genocide that led to the demise of roughly 78% of the Jewish population in Germany-controlled Europe, along with as many as eleven million other victims. World War II is considered the deadliest military conflict in history.

Which mass death event do you find the most chilling? Let us know in the comments below.