Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

[180digi]

I'd like to post this here both to get your collective opinions and critiques of my paper here but also to set up a kind of discussion on the subject at hand. I wrote this paper in about 5-6 hours of on and off(mostly on) work.

Here is the assignment which my friend was nice enough to scan and email to me.



And here is my paper. About 3 and a half pages single spaced. The book was Krakatoa, by Simon Winchester.
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David Weinstock
2/20/08
AP Environmental Science

Novel Assessment: Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883

Volcanic eruptions are frequently sited as tragic and unfortunate events for those who live in the areas involved. Such was the case with many volcanoes throughout history such as Mt. Vesuvius in Italy, Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, and the former island of Krakatoa, in the waters of the Sunda Strait between the lands of Java and Sumatra in present day Indonesia. The latter of the three is the subject of a book called, Krakatoa: the Day the World Exploded by journalist and one time geologist Simon Winchester. It is Winchester’s opinion that the eruption and explosion of Krakatoa is unique in not only being the volcanic event with the highest death toll, but also in the effect it had on the course of history; changes that are still apparent in southeast Asia today.

For the first few chapters, Winchester speaks at length about the history, geography, and ecology of the island and the surrounding area. In the earliest parts of the 17th century, the Dutch chartered a company called the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or the VOC, to essentially colonize the area. The VOC was given rights to control trade as well as form treaties with the small villages and kingdoms in Java and Sumatra(pg. 29, Krakatoa). Such items as cloves, nutmeg, and pepper were exported to Europe for an enormous profit, increasing the Dutch wealth. The area remained a Dutch possession through the 19th century and the period of Krakatoa’s eruption. The Javanese were people of the Islamic faith, although it was a sect most diluted, without the strictness of the Islam of the Middle East at that and other times. However, in the earliest years, the colonists feared the Javanese for their savagery and the diseases that were prevalent in the area, causing them to build walls to protect themselves from outside forces(pgs. 40-41).

The geography and ecology of the area are closely related, according to Winchester. There existed in 1863 and presumably still exists in between the island groups of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Bali in the west and another group of islands including Lombok, Timor, Sulawesi, and Maluku a line that when one observes and compares the kinds of wildlife and vegetation in both areas, one finds that they are completely distinct from each other. Winchester calls this divide the “Wallace Line” after Alfred Russel Wallace, who conceived the idea(pg. 63).

“… In Bali we have barbets, fruit-thrushes, and woodpeckers; on passing over to Lombock these are seen no more, but we have an abundance of ****atoos, honeysuckers, and brush-turkeys, which are equally unknown in Bali and every island further west … the forests abound in monkeys of many kinds, wildcats, deer, civets and otters, and numerous varieties of squirrels are constantly met with. In the latter none of these … but the prehensile-tailed opossum is almost the only terrestrial animal seen, except wild pigs that are found on all the islands, and deer…(pg. 65)”

In light of the differences recorded by Wallace, one can infer that the islands west and east of the line have their own unique characteristics that have caused the wildlife to be as they are. This ties in quite nicely with our theme of evolution, speciation, and biodiversity in that the separation of the islands seems to have caused the deviation from original species leading to unique forms of life in each area, much like the islands of Galapagos where each island exhibits another species of bird. Also spoken of in the book are Alfred Wegener and the importance of plate tectonics in the eruption. Plate tectonics was a theory not fully recognized until the 1960s, making it very difficult if not impossible for scientists at the time to explain the terrible event.

The largest portion of the book of course tells of the catastrophe involving the eruption of Krakatoa in the summer of 1883 and the consequences thereof. Krakatoa is said to have been a colossal mountain that exploded into a cauldron with parentheses shaped islands surrounding in the very distant past, a stage referred to as “Ancient Krakatoa.(pg. 117)” In the 19th century however, the island was simply known as one with a “pointed mountain,” a landmark for sailors to find their way in the potentially dangerous Sunda Strait. It started somewhat lightly with slight tremors and vibrations in the air. The eruption itself started off slowly as well with clouds of ash and dust being seen floating up from the top of the pointed mountain, eventually coating the ships in a white layer.
Shortly after, a series of vibrations and rumbling started which were heard at significant distances. More ash and pumice stone was shot into the air and was particularly prevalent in the water around the volcano, making it difficult for ships to navigate if they were unfortunate enough to still be in the area. The sounds of the initial eruptions had been heard as far away as Singapore(pg. 166). Telegraphs were sent out describing what had happened in the area, reaching newspapers in Britain though the story was not made a big deal of. The island eventually quieted down though it was not quite finished yet. Many people simply forgot all about though the vibrations(quieter now) were still prevalent.

Many weeks later, on August 27th, the island finally climaxed in an apocalyptic explosion that signaled the end of the island. The eruption started up again that morning launching so much dust, ash, and pumice into the atmosphere that people in local towns were thrown into complete darkness forcing lamps to be turned on as early as 2:00 in the afternoon. Ships found themselves sailing blind with hails of pumice and St. Elmo’s fire bearing down on them. As the final eruption intensified, telegraph cables were destroyed and communication with certain areas severed. Finally, enormous tsunamis formed at sea and assaulted the islands, killing countless people and destroying practically everything in sight. Towns and villages that had up to 2,600 people were reduced to two survivors. It is said that 165 villages were destroyed and along with them went some 36,417 lives (pg. 240). Four great explosions followed over the course of five hours, the last of which, at 10:02A.M., finally destroyed the mountain.

However, the death toll was not the only effect the eruption had on the area, or the world for that matter. Perhaps the most significant effect of the eruption of Krakatoa was the advent of a stricter Islam in the area. Shortly after the eruption, a wave of anti-colonial and anti-Western sentiment appeared in the area in the form of a rebellion in which white-robed assailants attacked a small town and several Europeans were killed with knives and blades. Soldiers with repeating rifles put down the rebellion, however this would mark a turning point in this particular part of the Dutch empire, which would finally become independent as the country of Indonesia in 1949. It is suggested that this happened partially because of the neglect the Europeans had for the Javanese who were merely left carry on with their lives after the cataclysm.

Another effect of the eruption was the effect that the miniscule particles of dust and ash had on the atmosphere. As with most significant volcanic eruptions, the global climate cooled somewhat after the eruption. This is usually attributed to the amorphous cloud’s blocking of the sun’s rays. However, this had another effect on the appearance of the sky: for many, the sky appeared to have strange unnatural shades and hues such as purples and greens. The sun actually appeared to be blue to some, and green to others depending on their geographic location. Others saw the sun to be extremely fiery red. This had a rather artistic impact in that some paintings from the era have some influence from the altered hues of the sky(pg. 281, although not in color). The sky’s unnatural color remained for almost three years after the eruption as the fine particles finally sank back down to earth.

Finally, Winchester comments on how the vegetation and wildlife of the new island of Anak Krakatoa(“Son of Krakatoa”), having returned to existence some time in the late 1930s, has returned. It is possible that certain forms of life have migrated back to the island, again tying into the ecology of species. It is fascinating to note how nature can recover from the most apocalyptic of disturbances, though it may take some time.

It is easy of course to understand certain points of the novel better when one has studied and learned the background of the subject. Obviously, the topic of volcanism comes to mind. We know now that the islands in Southeastern Asia are a result of moving tectonic plates and that the areas of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia are rife with volcanic and seismic activity.1 We also know now that landmasses such as North America and Eurasia, South America and Africa were once one single landmass(Krakatoa, pg. 72; textbook pg. 106, fig. 5-9). However this was hotly contested as being untrue up until the 1960s when those who had held out so stubbornly had to concede that it was in fact the truth. Indeed, Winchester himself actually played a very tiny part in the affirmation of the theory when he was part of an expedition to the northern-most parts of Greenland to retrieve rock and mineral samples that had properties similar to those in other far off parts of the world.

Another topic of ours visited is the aforementioned references to animal migration and speciation. Once again, it was Wallace’s line seemed to separate the varieties of life found in eastern areas like Sumatra and Java and western areas such as Celebes and even as far as Australia. The two groups of species evolved in different directions to better to suit their own environments.
In the case of plate tectonics at the very least, Simon Winchester is well qualified to speak on these subjects. The rest he invariably must have gleamed from research. Winchester, a journalist and broadcaster, “…graduated in 1966 from Oxford with a degree in geology and spent a year working as a geologist in the Ruwenzori Mountains in western Uganda…(postscript, pg. 2)” Winchester has also wrote television programs and has been a frequent columnist for several British publications. The aforementioned part he played in the proving of the plate tectonics theory makes him somewhat of an eyewitness to this event in scientific history.

However, in my own personal opinion(possibly the first time I’ve used the first person in this paper), the most noteworthy aspect of the book is the also aforementioned rebellion of the native Javanese and other peoples who became most decidedly anti-Western and much more violent. Many Javanese made pilgrimages to Mecca in the times after the eruption, and it is said they their animosity was kindled to higher levels each time they returned. Winchester writes: “…the longer the pilgrims stayed away, the more “Arabized” they were on return, the more they held the Dutch infidels in contempt, the more they tended to take part in violent acts against the colonial power(pg. 329).” Indonesia today is a still a predominately Muslim nation.

I believe it is quite possible for one to read Winchester’s chapter on the Muslim rebellion and form quite a negative opinion about Muslims in general. This book was written in 2003, shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, and it was very likely that some readers may have regarded this part of the story of Krakatoa as just another reason to despise Muslims as a people. Whether or not it was Winchester’s purpose to instill apprehension or dislike for Muslims with his book, it is not known. I certainly hope that this was not the case, as it does very little if anything to improve the world’s condition. In the end, the eruption did very much to change the history of Southeast Asia and that of the Netherlands and Indonesia as well.

Winchester, Simon. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883, 2003

1textbook, pgs. 206-207
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I am particularly interested in arguing the point that this book has the capacity to instill yet more hatred for people of the Islamic faith and Arabic descent, something that was sorely unneeded in 2003. Again, I hope not, but I've never met this author and having not read any of his other books, I cant make a more educated guess at what his feelings towards Muslims are. The chapter on the rebellion is fairly small; a scant 22 pages next to the previous chapter which was 108 pages long. It seems strange at any rate, you'd think this sort of thing would be important to the story of the volcano.