Well, I haven’t been able to sleep for like 4 days, so that’s given me ample time to finish Simon Winchester’s Krakatoa. I’m glad I took notes, otherwise I’d have to re-read everything to blog about it.
At this point in the story, he’s talking about the aftereffects of the eruption. Reports from around the world talk of vivid sunsets, blood red in color; unusual coloration of the moon, sun and larger planets… including seeing blue and green sun and moon on numerous occasions. All of this was due to the amount of ash that was blasted into the stratosphere – and reflected/distorted the light waves.
Not only did this ash provide unearthly colors, it also helped meteorologists unfold the patterns of the jet stream – which helped in predicting weather patterns. Of course, the weatherman is still always wrong.
Another side effect of the ash in the air was the lowering of temperatures worldwide by an average of one degree. That might not sound like much, but as Winchester points out, that could mean the difference between a lake freezing over or not. The day of the eruption, however, which I mentioned previously, the temperature around Java dropped fifteen degrees.
There was so much ash and pumice blown out of the volcano, that there were reports, nearly a year after the eruption, of pumice washing up on beaches as far away as Africa – and carried on that pumice were skulls and bones of dead animals and humans. He recounts a crewman’s entry (on the boat Samoa in the Indian Ocean): For two days after passing Anjer we passed through masses of dead bodies, hundreds and hundreds of them striking the ships on both sides… for ten days we went through fields of pumice stone.
Then Winchester points out that most volcanoes, whether Mount St. Helens, Pinatubo, Etna or Vesuvius, erupt in such a way that they cause death and destruction, however, they still stand there after the fact. But Krakatoa didn’t. It blew itself to smithereens. There were only three small relics left of the volcano after August 27, 1883.
At this point he goes into some of the geology, chemistry and physics involved that caused this to happen – which back in 1883 was still unknown to the scientific community. It wasn’t until 1965 until the “discovery” of plate tectonics was realized and many answers could now be found as to why volcanoes form and erupt.
Most (94%) of the 1500 active volcanoes in the world are found in what is termed “the subduction factory.” This is where the plates and other essential parts of creating highly explosive and deadly volcanoes are formed. Only a few countries are host to most of them. In order (most to least): Indonesia (where Krakatoa was), Japan, the United States (yes, third on the list), Russia, Chile, the Philippines, New Guinea, New Zealand, Nicaragua… in other words, nine out of every ten volcanoes in these countries are liable to erupt, or have done so in recent history. As a matter of fact, three of the five biggest eruptions to ever take place on the planet occurred in Indonesia.
There is evidence, Winchester explains, of a super-Krakatoa that exploded at some unspecified time in the ancient past. Where Krakatoa sits – or used to sit – is one of, if not the most geologically unique and dangerous parts of the world – and it is positioned over a large chamber of magma.
After his discussion of the geology, he goes into chapter nine: Rebellion of a Ruined People. He talks about how, after the eruption, the Dutch mounted relief efforts. Only most of that relief went to Dutch people living in the colony, not the native peoples. This only fueled the fire of rebellion that had already been in the works. And with two attacks on Dutch “officials” as it were, by one (or possibly two different) Islamic radicals (reported by the Dutch military as people of “extreme religious zeal”… fundamentalist, militant, anticolonial, anti-infidel Muhammadanists), the stage was set.
Winchester then goes through a series of events that eventually led to the Dutch being kicked out of the area in 1947… and the uprising of the Islamic faith (today there are over 170 million Indonesians of the Islamic faith). He points out that the beginning of the uprising took place just five weeks after the eruption – that letters came from Arabia itself to instigate matters. They were, if Winchester’s reports are accurate, taking advantage of the natives, using their own superstitions about the volcano, in order to proselytize them.
He says, “The planning was meticulous and took years – though the first suggestions of rebellion were made just after the eruption in 1883, the outbreak itself did not occur until five years later, July 1888. In all cases the leaders and instigators were hajjis – the rebellion was Islamic-inspired, Islamic-led…Oaths were demanded… all the participants solemnly agreeing, in writing, to perform the killing.” The list of targets were all Europeans. With rare exceptions (only one was noted and she was spared because she swore to convert to Islam), no one on the list was shown mercy. Even babies were “sliced to pieces.”
Winchester speculates that if the Dutch hadn’t mistreated the natives (there were horror stories coming from that side as well), and had been more attentive to their needs after the eruption, the rebellion would not have happened – or at least had been put off.
Anyway… he moves on to The Rising of the Son. Forty-four years after Krakatoa blew itself to bits, plumes of steam, water, black froth, ash, volcanic bombs and pumice began to surge from beneath the waves. Three times in three years, Anak Krakatoa (son of Krakatoa), tried to break through the waves. He’d pop his head above the surface, but the power of the surf would erode him away. But he fought hard.
On Feb 3, 1928, no fewer than 11,791 detonations were heard from the fledgling volcano. 14,269 were heard on June 25. Spunky little thing, wasn’t he?
Finally, on August 11, 1930 almost exactly 45 years after papa blew up, Anak Krakatoa burst forth from the surface and continues to grow to this day.
On that day, he was a mere 20 feet high and a half mile long.
Twenty years later, he was 500 feet high and a mile and a half long.
In 2004 (when the book was written) Anak Krakatoa stood 1500 feet high.
Because he is constantly blowing off steam, there is hope that it won’t erupt like Krakatoa had done. However, nothing is certain, and the fact that it continues to grow at such a fast rate is of concern.
Winchester then goes on to talk about the re-habitation of old Krakatoa (or the three small remnants of it) and compares it to life growing on Anak Krakatoa. He talks about scientists still haven’t figured out the “Krakatoa Problem” – were there survivors on the few remnants or did life begin again from drifters from the outside islands. No one will probably ever really know that answer. However, what remains is covered with lush tropical forests once again.
Meanwhile, Winchester ends his book with a trip up to the summit of Anak Krakatoa. He describes the journey – the most perilous of which seems to be the boat ride through the busy waterway lanes, and an encounter with a 6-foot long monitor lizard.
This has been a great read. I love how he weaves other historical information (such as the laying of the underwater telegraph lines) with the story of Krakatoa. Everything is well documented; the science is broken down into layman’s terms; and it’s all put together neatly into a wonderful story. It’s not just a “science” book – it is a story and even for those who aren’t as crazy about volcanoes as I am, it is worth the time to read.
Happy reading!
