This Primary Source is an excerpt from "The Cremation of Strasbourg Jewry, St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 1349—About the Great Plague and the Burning of the Jews" This document talks about how the Jews were blamed for the spread of the plague by putting poisons into water and wells. Because of this it was decided that all Jews would be burned to death and none would be allowed to enter specific cities for 200 years. Our primary source gives us an idea of what people thought started the plague. Many people blamed the Jews saying that they had killed christ and that they poisoned the water and the wells with the plague. The Black Plague allowed a new wave of Anti-Semitism to spread through Europe.
The Black Death did not just cause death; it caused panic and destroyed the economy, the family structure, and so much more. The Black Death traveled as an invisible invader across waters. In 1346, travelers reported millions of deaths across China, central Asia and the Middle East (Worlds, 418). Just like the travelers who carried it, the disease moved with them “by fleas to city rats and other animals, including humans” as it spread (Worlds, 418). The Black Death killed so many people in some cities that more than half the population fell victim to this epidemic (Worlds, 418).
The Christians and Muslims are different in their response on the Black Death. In 1333 the Plague (Black Death) appears in China; in 137 it appeared in Europe. The Christians had different reactions or reasons why the Plague was placed upon them. The East and West had many different thoughts or you could say beliefs about how to prevent or the cause of the Black Death. There are three different types of the Plague or Black Death, hey are the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic bacterial strains.
During the thirteenth century, a disease known as the Black Death spread from Asia to Europe at an alarming speed. It travelled through the trade routes, in the form of infected fleas carried from town to town on rats causing catastrophic loses of population . The Black Death consisted of two forms of the disease; the pneumonic plague, and the bubonic plague . Since it was unknown as to what caused the disease at the time, their responses to the plague’s outbreak were almost entirely futile. Since religion was a big factor in nearly everybody’s lives, the records of the Black Death that we do have are heavily influenced by religion, and as such, their views strongly swayed things like treatments and medicine that were used against the plague.
Islam was the dominant faith of the middle-eastern societies, the population reacted to the plague by drawing closer to their religion. The muslims believed that the plague was a blessing from god and that they should ' 'accept the divine act ' ' Therefore , ' 'prayer lifting the epidemic is abhorrent ' ' (Doc 4). The plague that attacked muslims was more mortal than the European plague. This plague killed people faster.
The Bubonic plague ended up being catastrophic, and so devastating to European society because it caused changes in attitude towards religion, changes in population, and an increase of antisemitism. The Black Death spread so quickly through Europe that people did not even have time to process what was going on. As seen in the map “The Bubonic Plague spreads through Europe,”
The Black Death was a horrific pandemic that killed millions of people across the world, and it affected many nations. It spread across Asia, Europe, and North Africa, infecting millions of people in the process. The plague included three different types of illnesses, depending on which part of the body the disease infected. The cause and spread of the Black Death changed life in Asia, Europe, and North Africa drastically, and it left a lasting mark on the world. There were a couple of different factors that historians believe contributed to causing the Black Death.
In 1347, Europe had just been infected by the Black Death. This epidemic killed over 2/3 of Europe’s population and lasted for over five years. The pathogen that caused the Black Death was Yersinia Pestis which causes many forms of plague. The Plague originated in central and south Asia then traveled through trade routes like the Silk Road, all the way to Sicily The Black Death killed most of Europe’s population, thus ending Feudalism by having not enough serfs and workers to run fields and farms. The land owners started to offer more for their work and labor, making the lower class more wealthy, and providing more jobs.
Often as a result of overpopulation, pandemics—like swine flu and ebola, for instance—have affected life on Earth for centuries; one of the most well-known, and possibly the most unforgiving epidemics was the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death . Although the first symptoms of the Plague trace back to the Mongol Empire in 1331, the disease first struck Europe in Venice and Genoa during the winter of 1348. In the following years, the Bubonic Plague spread rapidly throughout Europe, killing roughly a third of its population. It is suggested that the rapid spread and extreme severity of the Black Death was partially due to the weakened immune system of the Europeans, which had been caused by the Great Famine, a period of food scarcity that affected Europe from 1315 to 1322. Additionally, the lack of knowledge about the spread of
The goods from the East moved to Europe through Constantinople slowly spreading the plague. The plague then went through Constantinople and moved spread throughout Mediterranean countries. From there, the plague spread further Europe affecting more countries. During several years, the plague made its way throughout Europe and affected Europe causing numerous deaths and depopulation. Europe Before the Black Death struck Europe, they were in the High Middle Ages (1020-1300) where they were prevailing in agricultural technology, but was inadequate for further expansion of its country.
The reactions from the Christians and the Muslims to the greatly feared disease, known as the Black Death or the Great Plague were different in several ways. The first Plague was documented from 541 to 544 CE. Known as the Plague of Justinian. The Plague came in three different ways: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. With bubonic being the most common.
The Christians and Muslims were both struck by the Black Death. I will be answering the question “How different were Christian and Muslim responses.” I will also be writing the Christian response. Next, I will be writing about the Muslim response. Finally I will be writing about the Jewish reformation and the scientific inquiry.
The Black Death The two faiths, Christianity and Islamic, approach the black death in similar ways religiously, medically, and in dealing with the Jews. Religiously the faiths saw the plague as a curse. The Muslims thought of the black plague as a blessing from god. (Document 4, 6, 8) the Muslims and the Christians have their own opinions of what they think the Black Death is.
Europe really didn’t know what to think of all the death that was surrounding them so they tried understanding it the best they could. Some were more rational about it and knew that they should try to avoid the dead and contact with those who may be ill. Others were scared and decided to blame it on those with different beliefs as them. They didn’t want to believe that they had done something wrong for which God would punish them. Europe just didn’t understand what was happening or what to do to make it
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
