The Black Death has been marked as one of the worst plagues to have ever struck humans in history, since it killed twenty five million Europeans in the course of the plague, and twenty million in Asia. (“The Black Death, JewishHistory.com) The Black Death took place in England in the fourteen century and killed millions between the years 1347-1350.(“Black Death”, n.p.) This came after an already terrible period in European history known as the Great Famine which left many people dead; the source starvation. The Great Famine occurred because of terrible climate changes that led to a disastrous farming season, that resulted in England loosing “…about 15 percent of its population during the famine years, between 1317 and 1348…” ( DeWitte, S., & Slavin, P., 54) The Great Famine contributed to the Black Death because since people were in starvation, they were left susceptible to disease. The Black Death was brought to Europe in October of 1347, by a shipment …show more content…
People grew more and more concerned with contracting the disease that they would try to isolate themselves, “… and human aid was as vail as it was destructive to those who approached the infected.” ( Hecker, J. C., & Babington, B. G., pg 6) This quote shows the tremendous devastation that the plague caused since once the person was infected there was very little that could be done to save that person and in turn the risk that people faced when attempting to help someone would only kill them. The concern with contacting the disease was so terrifying since they would die a painful death that even mothers and fathers would abandon their children as soon as they discovered that they were infected. (DeWitte, S., & Slavin,
The Bubonic Plague also known as the Black Death first appeared in England around 1347 AD. This horrible plague was spread by mainly by fleas. These fleas would live on animals such as sheep, cows, horses, and rats. The Black Death even impacted well known poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Due to this disease, Shakespeare lost his sisters, brothers, and his one and only son.
The growing population allowed the infected fleas, all over the body, to jump from body to body much quicker and easily than before, increasing the spread of the plague throughout Europe. The growing population also bought on a drought in food meaning the people could not keep up nutrition to protect themselves from the fast growing plague. The increase in population for villages also meant that there was a lot less living space making the homes more cramped and closely packed allowing the plague to move more quickly throughout Europe. The trade and trade routes were a major part towards the spread of the plague but was not the only way the Black Death
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.
The “Black Death” is history’s first pandemic. This pandemic originated in China in 1334 and peaked in Europe. This plague wiped out entire towns. There were so many deaths, that there were not enough survivors remaining to bury the people who have passed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). It is believed that the cause of this outbreak was because of the bacterium Yersinia pestis, according to forensic research (Saylor).
Plague infects both people and rodents. The transmission of the disease can infect the population faster via rodents. Fleas feeding on infected rodents can transmit the disease to people as well. Once infected, people can infect others by coughing, sneezing, or close talking. The origin of “The Black Death” dates to an outbreak in China during the 1330s.
The Black Death was a large-scale infectious disease that spread rapidly through Medieval Europe between 1349-1351. The Black Death was a bubonic plague, meaning people would experience egg-sized swellings (buboes) on their necks, armpits and groin. The source of the plague was traced back to the black rat and rat flea. Fleas would bite rats and obtain the bacteria then bite humans, which would cause the bacteria to enter the bloodstream, once in the bloodstream the person would die within three days.
The Black Death was one of the most shocking plagues ever to exist. It caused the deaths of approximately 75 to 200 million people, and was at its most devastating between 1346 and 1353. This highly contagious disease started with bacteria called Yersinia pestis. Yersinia pestis is mostly discovered in rodents, especially rats, and in the fleas that forage on them. Contact with other humans and fleabites spread the Black Death.
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 Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was one of if not most significant plagues of all time. The illness took an enormous toll on multiple continents, infecting the rich, the poor, and everyone in between. Europe, in particular, sustained a loss of up to one-third of its population (DeSantis, 2015). The outbreak was spread by parasites, which caused complications for both lifestyle, economy, and commerce throughout Europe.
The spread of Black Death into England was where people really understood how devastating the plague was. The worst was when disease was in cities, due to overcrowding and a large population. Also, the hygiene in England was already very dirty and extremely disgusting without Black Death present. Black Death spread so rapidly that 30-40% of the population was killed in just 2 years. One of the worst aspects of the disease was that when people were about to die, they could not confess their sins.
The Black Death changed peasant’s lives and society drastically. In hope of them having more respect they want to be recognized for their hard work and labor. A Peasants lifestyle and atmosphere was very strict and harsh which led to poor health and wellbeing. Some areas had food shortages and no one could provide them with food to feed everyone. Causing that made the peasants poor as they were only selling small amounts of food for the same price which gradually made them poorer.
Interestingly, there are many articles that discuss the black plague outbreak; and, while all articles relate to the Black Death (plague outbreak), few bring a different perspective, for example: • The Black Death Decoded explores elements analyzed with findings of a similar strain of Yersinia, as Zeigler alludes to Yersinia throughout his book. • The Black Death discusses the Genome of Yersinia pestis, which relates to the bacteria that causes bubonic plague (a definite point Zeigler argues). Of course, there have been a lot of questions and suspicions about the effects of the Black Death, and its arrival to England as well as the mortality rate, but Zeigler suggest “between a third and half the people must have died” (p. 128) from the
Since the plague hit, people began to panic. There were some instances where they would abandon their dying relatives, burn or purge people in their communities, closed down businesses and even move out to the country side. There was a rumor at the time that the black death could not infect people who lived in the country side. However, if people in the city have been in contact with the plague and they move to the country side, then they can infect the people there and also the livestock there. Therefore, people will be starved to death since the livestock was a source of food and also they need farmers to raise livestock and work the fields.
The black death also known as the black plague had given people black boils that had oozed blood and puss. It also withheld them from keeping food down as they became overcome with fever and delirious pain. The plague had not only affected humans, it also affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens (“Black Death”). The living conditions in Europe of the time were very harsh. With so many people dying at the time survivors were moving into large
It was the Spring of 1348, and the citizens of Europe were malnourished due to limited food supplies for such a large population. This made them more susceptible to the outbreak of the Black Death. The Black Death originated in Asia, then moved westward into Sicily. From Sicily, the plague crept its way up through Europe infecting millions of people, in total killing more than one third of Europe’s population. In fact, over fifty percent of the population of Siena died, along with fifty percent of Paris, eighty percent of Florence, and over two thirds of Venice.