Concept:The Bengal Famine of 1769–70 was primarily triggered by crop failure and worsened by an outbreak of smallpox.
Explanation:The immediate cause was failure of the rice crop in 1768 due to lack of rainfall.
This led to peasant migration and acute food shortage.
A severe smallpox epidemic then broke out, killing about 10 million people (roughly one‑third of Bengal’s population).
The epidemic compounded the scarcity, making the famine more deadly.
Although high taxation by the East India Company aggravated the economic distress, the question specifically asks what *worsened* the famine — the epidemic is the correct factor among the given options.
Answer:D. Smallpox epidemic