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 Black Plague, a disease many would agree was both one of the most devastating and poignant events to occur in European History. A time of persecution and suffering, many had to endure the effects that the Black Plague brought with it. Amidst the consequences suffered by those carrying the disease, came the ramifications that those who were not directly affected experienced. A few ramifications were self-evident, such as trade, others were concealed within the fear that the population had lost so much already, they could no longer afford to lose anything else, whether that be dignity or pride. The plague caused many to question their religious outlook, the lack of knowledge caused false cures to develop and affected the interactions throughout Europe.
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.
The Bubonic Plague: The Black Death During the late 1330’s in Europe the population was growing dramatically. This caused food shortages, which began to worry the people. The summers and winters were harsh not helping with the crop harvesting. A famine broke out, and it is now known as the famine before the plague.
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.
Many peasants died from the disease, probably from their poor diets and lack of nourishment. Workers were in high demand and the peasants knew it. At this time, most pandemics were deadly since there was no medicine or technology. The Black Death was not the only pandemic going around Europe, other diseases include syphilis and gonorrhea.
Although these records were beneficial somewhat to researches, it can also be unreliable since Church figures of this time were believers that God brought the plague upon them and it is possible that it only provides one side to the cause and not was actually being looked for. It is also very limited in that the cause of the death isn’t recorded and can’t be separated from those who died of natural causes before the plague. Another problem with only using bishops’ and priests as evidence is that they are not an accurate representation of the entire population which included both male and female. One Historian argued that “priests were on average better fed, better housed and better educated” than most of the people other than those of higher
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. As
The Black Death was not just one disease, it was three diseases that were all around at the same time. They were the bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic plagues. They each attacked different parts of the body and were all deadly. The bubonic is the most common one so the other two are often forgotten. Despite the religious views, the plague did not differentiate between race, culture, wealth, gender or religion.
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.
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).
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…”
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.
The Black Death The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was one of the biggest pandemics in the world. It started to spread from Eastern China, to Europe in the early 1300’s, and it reoccurred multiple times during the years to come. Merchant ships and rodents were the two main ways this disease spread and infected humans (The Black Death 1348). The symptoms for this plague were extremely painful and death was the most likely outcome in most cases.
Thousands of years ago, a plague invaded the human world. The plague ' 'was know by the Great Pestilence, The Great plague, and the Black death ' '(Intro Doc). The plague attacked and kill around 25% and 45% of the societies it touch and/or encountered.The plague was made of three bacterial strains which created the three plagues called bubonic, pneumonic, and septimic. At this time of desesperation and agony in most homes religion such as Islam and Christianity became the most powerful force in the lives of people. The people of both religions had similar beliefs, but reacted differently.