The Bubonic Plague is commonly referred to as the Black Death or the Black Plague. The plague lived through the oriental rat flea, or Xenopsylla cheopis. These fleas feed on blood and that is how they transmit the infection. The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in human history. It traveled through Europe for over three years. It is responsible for millions of deaths throughout Europe in the 1340s. It is said to have killed up to 50 million between 1346 and 1350. The huge population decline served many economic consequences. The need for labor rose, while the population was decreasing. Despite not being thoroughly documented, there are many poems and other works of literature from this time period. The Black Plague changed the course of European history, resulting in massive social and economic …show more content…
To cite an instance, Brown University wrote, “because of illness and death workers became exceedingly scarce so even peasants felt the effects of the new rise in wages”(“social”). The population decline affected the economy in many ways. Though there were many negative consequences, there were also some positives, such as higher wages. Additionally, an excerpt from 'The Black Death’ reads “The Black Death did more than kill large numbers of people. It also altered many social customs disrupted trade, and made most people fearful of contact with strangers”(Bender 65). This quote tells us that the Plague caused issues with trade. This would make it very hard to find resources they did not have access to. The Plague also caused issues with Europe 's crops. For example, TheMidievalEra states “The plague was not only end of men, but animals and harvest too”(“Death”). Even the people who were not infected by the virus, faced famine and starvation. Those that were not killed by the plague were still greatly impacted. When the population desolates, you can only expect the economy to follow
Change in European Understanding of Plague in the 1348 versus 1352 Known as the “Black Death,” one of the most devastating plague pandemic wiped out approximately 30 to 60 percent of the European population, peaking in between 1348 and 1350 . It caused massive religious, social, and economic, upheaval in the European society causing great changes in the European culture and lifestyle1. Finally, when after three and a half years the first wave passed in 1351, it spared few regions causing devastation in towns, rural communities, families, and religious institutions . The plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via the ports of Caffa and Sicily in 1347, when several Italian merchant ships returned from a trip to the Black Sea, one of the key links in trade with China .
It was a crisis where no one knew why death kept coming. Not only did kill, but it impacted how life was lived, too. Overall, the black death forever damaged the social pillars in Europe. One of the social pillars was how family was, and with a crisis like the plague, family wasn’t the biggest factor in surviving. In the event that the plague was spreading, it scared others and led them to panic.
Wealthy and powerful people fled to country. People began to live for the moment and threw themselves into sexual and alcoholic orgies. Conditions for the wealthy declined while life for peasants improved. Jews were accused of causing the plague by poisoning town wells. It also led to economic problems, and economic
It is no wonder that the Europeans felt that their economic environment was vulnerable and uneasy, “European economy slowly improved, and agriculture and manufacturing production eventually reached pre-famine levels” (Nelson, Insert Year). The economy impact of the Black Death must start with the historical context that the economy was not as sturdy as other time periods or European history. For this reason, the set back, economically speaking, was an enormous strain on European life. With population decreasing drastically, and the economy barely trying to recover from the famine, the Europeans suffered in terms of having workers to produce into the economy--especially to create food for what was left of the population. For these reasons, the Black Death took a major toll on the economy of Europe and created relentless heart ache, “Many people touched by the plague moved away from medieval cities and towns to unaffected areas.
The plague then started to infect thousands and thousands until 35% of Europe’s population was deceased. This reduced the world population in total to seventy-five to one hundred million people. Massive loss of life was caused. For a short time war stopped and trade declined. Many of the serfs died, so the remaining ones demanded higher wages.
The Black Death was so devastating to Europe because of the population change and the effects it had on people. The Black Death changed many people’s lives. For example, most of the population decreased, which is sad because their lives are gone. It affected Spain, France, and Italy in 1348; Barbaria, and England in 1349; and Poland in 1350.
All plagues strike by uprooting individual lives and society as a whole. Nevertheless, the particular circumstances regarding the government, and religious and cultural beliefs in the affected lands influence the specific results of the tragedy, as witnessed through the Black Death and smallpox. Although both diseases led to drastic economic changes, they caused different overturns of religious beliefs, and only the Black Death resulted in the creation of public health services and the marginalization of groups of people. A lack of labor precipitated alterations to the economy--the end of feudalism in the case of the Black Death and the creation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the case of smallpox.
In mid-fourteenth century Europe a plague (also known as the Black Death) appeared in which the first wave killed millions of people. But the plague didn’t stop there, it persisted, spreading around the whole known world and exerting its power on people up until the eighteenth century. In Europe there were many responses to the plague which included helping to stop and cure the plague, profiting off it, and trying to protect and care for their loved ones. One response to the plague was to help stop and cure the plague. As the traveler Heinrich von Staden observes, “....
The epidemic affected Europe culturally, as the citizens developed an excessive reliance on religion as an answer for their tragedy. Additionally, the Black Death shifted the people’s social perspectives; they lost compassion for the sick and indulged in selfish desires. Finally, the pestilence altered the Europeans’ mental state, as their appreciation of life itself diminished, since the rapid spread of the plague caused torrential death rates across Europe. In response to the Black Death, the people of Europe became passionately pious, for they viewed their misfortune as a punishment from God and, thus, believed the only way to bring about continental happiness was through religion.
However, some regularity does exist in these events. Although very difficult, information following the impact of high mortality on early farming economies could be estimated. The effect of these outbreaks is highlighted through the observation of some familiar developments in the economy of medieval Europe. It is estimated that in the 14th century 25 million people died as a result of Black Death (Martin, 2008). In simple economic perspective, we understand that productivity diminishes as a result of a shortage of labor force.
Treatments for the plague varied widely, and were always unsuccessful. Medical knowledge was lacking during this time period and treatment ranged from blood letting to bathing in urine. Blood letting was an extremely risky procedure that involved severing a vein to try and “bleed” the disease out. When you couple this with the lack of sanitation during this time period, you can only imagine the opportunity for infection. Europe also had problems disposing of the overwhelming number of dead.
On top of that, another negative outcome of the plague was the tremendous death toll. After the passing of the Black Death, the death toll accumulated to a quarter to a third of the population. In total, the estimation of the death toll is thought to be between 75-200 million citizens. The sudden loss of citizens proved to be a challenge for many societies that suddenly lost their workers. This is because without workers, a society cannot function as no workers equals no production.
The Black Death was a disease that had a catastrophic impact on Europe. Reaching Europe in 1347, the plague killed an estimation of one-third of the population in the first wave. Each document varies with its reasons for the cause of the plague and how to deal with it. The first document Ordinances against the Spread of Plague seemed to blame Pisa and Lucca for the plague and thus, began to forbid contact with those places. It was forbidden for citizens of Pistoia to go to, or have contact with anyone or anything from Pisa or Lucca.
During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place
The plague was fatal and spread rapidly in cities where people were close together. This was one of the worst outbreaks of a disease in history and drastically brought down the population. The Black Plague had an effect on the economy, religion, and culture in Europe during the Renaissance period. The Black Plague