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Social studies the black death
How the Black Death Across Europe In the 14th Century Brought Change In Society
Economic effects of black death
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History: Black Death – Script The Black Death was one of the most destructive Plagues that faced Europe in Medieval Times. This Plague killed approximately 1/3 of the world’s population and left 1 in every 3 households empty. The Character I will be talking about today, was affected significantly during this disaster as he was a peasant, his name was Charles Brinks, he was from Grange and loved his job. The impact of the Plague for these Peasants was very significant, not only did their social status improve but peasants after the plague were paid at least double what they were before. Charles Brinks was a Serf, he had 1 brother and 1 sister and worked for a Lord. Peasants at the time were very low in the feudal system, however this changed …show more content…
after the plague. Life during the Middle Ages was hard, but life before the plague was harder, not only could you not marry but their houses were only made of mud and there rooves were thatched, this is shown in Charles Brinks’ about me paragraph, in this paragraph he says “Sadly I can’t marry as it is illegal. My House is made of mud and my roof is thatched” Charles Brinks was very well-known and was well liked by everyone, some of these people are, Leonard Godfrey, his bestie and Will Chamberlain. As you can see in the About Me section, Charles Brinks states “I have no real education” this statement tells us that education at the time was not very important and that people could make a living without education. Life during the plague for peasants was hard, not only did they have to harvest for themselves but now they had to harvest enough food for the entire town!
Anyway in early 1348 the plague hit Grange, it was devastating right from the get go, from Charles Brinks’ third Status Update he says “It’s raining death, it is really sad to see so many close lads dyeing” this announcement tells us that there was no safe place even working in the country and that there was no cure at the time. During this horrific plague, the priest lost his social status, and peasants gained authority. There were many thoughts on who brought the Plague, some say it was cats and dogs, others say Jews and others say God, however one type of people believed so much that it was a punishment from God, that they thought punishment would stop this plague, these type of people were called Flagellants, and are shown in Charles Brinks’ 7th …show more content…
Picture. The Plague had a huge influence on peasants.
Lots of them bought land from those deceased and became landowners, those who stayed as a serf got paid at least double what they were being paid before the plague not only that but their social status improved as well. This is shown in Charles Brinks’ 5th Status Update, in that update he states “I have been earning double what I use to earn. I am so happy that I can finally earn a substantial amount of money” this is very good to hear as lots of peasants felt this way. However, in some good circumstances create bad for example the Peasants Revolt. Charles talks about this in his 6th and 7th Status
Update. These Peasants were fighting 1. So that landowners will never take these rights back 2. So that they would be paid by the Church for the efforts during the plague 3. So that Peasants wouldn’t pay taxes for unnecessary things (for example. War) These were dark times and many people died, however not as many as those in the plague. In conclusion, the hypothesis that: The impact of the Plague for these Peasants was very significant, not only did their social status improve but peasants after the plague were paid at least double what they were before, was proven. Peasants who survived the plague were given many benefits such as being paid more and having their social status improved was just the start for equality for people in Medieval Times. The Black Death was a very interesting topic to learn about and by Charles Brinks’ Fakebook Page being very informative it created a very detailed picture in my mind.
One piece of evidence stated, “As the plague kept occurring in the late 1300s, the European economy sank to a new low (Document 9).” Another piece of evidence states,” In the second half of the 14th century, a man could simply up and leave a manor, secure in the knowledge that Faith in religion had fallen because the prayers of the people were not answered. The people even thought that it was god whom had unleashed this deadly disease. One piece of evidence that I used stated,” Some felt that the wrath of God was descending upon man, and so fought the plague with player (Document 6).” Another piece of evidence stated,” Faith in religion decreased after the plague, both because of the death of so many of the clergy and because of the failure of prayer to prevent sickness and death (Document 6).”
So the peasants were extremely poor at that time. After the Black Death, population decreased, serfs and peasants were able to move around and they had much more freedom than before. They were no longer belong to the lord, and had choices of who they would work for. Most peasants chose to work for high paid jobs. The landowners, in order to attract people to work for them, provided the workers tools, housing and land. “The worker farmed all he could and paid only the rent.” The better treatment of serfs weakened the manorialism, as well as the decline of nobles.The plague killed so many people, and even nobles could not escape. The wealthy families were incapable of continuing growing, because their descendants died. So their position could not be passed on. Many families extinct. To fix this problem, the government setted up a new inheritance law which allowed both sons and daughter inherited property.
The years 1348 through 1350 had been an extremely gruesome and miserable time in our world’s history. During this time period, one of the most devastating pandemics in history had struck half the world with an intensifying and deadly blow. It had been responsible for over 75 million deaths and 20 million of these deaths were from Europe alone. Out of the countries that were hit hardest in Europe from mortality rates and economic downturns, England was one of them. This grave disease that marked the end of the middle ages and the start of the modern age is known as the Black Plague.
In the midst of the chaos it created, the Black Death weakened the archaic system of manorialism by causing an increase in the incomes of peasants. Manorialism was an economic system where a large class of serfs worked in the fields of the nobles in exchange for a small share of the crops. Due to the outbreak of the plague, however, there were not enough serfs for this approach to remain viable. The death of many serfs due to the Black Death meant that the ones who remained were able to ask for larger shares of the crops since their services were rare and thus more valuable. Further adding to the increase, many peasants whose requests were denied would often s...
During the course of the Plague common beliefs and/or concerns underwent a dramatic change. During the early years of the Plague outbreak the prevalent belief was of fear of the Plague and its uncertainty of the cause. Most people during this time were concerned that the Plague would affect their economy and their own work/business. People were also concerned of their lives and their family's well being. Then as time went on beliefs changed from this to fear to a religious superstition.
During the fourteenth century, bacteria and viruses were mostly unknown to doctors, which meant they were most certainly unheard of for the majority of the population. Now, it is widely believed that it was caused by bacterial strains. Back then, however, people had to produce their own reasons for the Plague. In Europe, the causes of the Black Death were said to be miasma (impure air) carried by the warm southern winds. The event of March 20, 1345, the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and excessively atrocious clothing were thought to add to the ubiquitous disease. In contrast, the people near the East believed that the said disease was supposedly caused by miasma as well, but due to wind carrying the vile odor of Mongol bodies...
In the 1340’s, an epidemic named the Black Death, erupted through Europe, killing nearly ⅓ of its population. The Black Death originated in China, rapidly spreading to western Asia and Europe. It killed about 30 million people in Europe plummeting its population. A lot of these people were peasants. This was because they had the least money, therefore putting them in the worst living conditions. There were so many of them that no individual could make a substantial amount of money. When the plague hit, the peasants were strongly affected. A huge population of them were killed. After the epidemic, the population of peasants was far less than before. This provided them with a chance to really improve their lives. The Black Death caused a change
The Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
The destruction and devastation caused by the 'Black Death' of the Middle Ages was a phenomenon left to wonder at in text books of historical Europe. An unstoppable plague swept the continent taking as much as eighty percent of the European population along with it (Forsyth).
One of the most important results of the Black Death is the end of feudalism. The labor force was so low that workers could refuse to work, demand a wage, and the aristocrats had no choice but to listen. Peasant revolts in France and England also played an important role in the end of feudalism. The French government, in an attempt to pay ransom to England for the return of their king, spiked tax rates on the French residents. The peasants at the time felt that the government was weak, and the increased taxes infuriated them, resulting in a rebellion that came to be known as the Jacquerie. Similar events took place in England a generation later. In 1381, peasants rebelled against high tax rates and frozen wages by marching on London an...
No other epidemic reaches the level of the Black Death which took place from 1348 to 1350. The epidemic, better regarded as a pandemic, shook Europe, Asia, and North Africa; therefore it deems as the one of the most devastating events in world history. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, John Aberth, compiles primary sources in order to examine the origins and outcomes of this deadly disease. The author, a history professor and associate academic dean at Vermont’s Castleton State College, specializes in medieval history and the Black Death. He wrote the book in order to provide multiple perspectives of the plague’s impact. Primarily, pathogens started the whole phenomenon; however, geological, economic, and social conditions
On 18 June 1349 the Ordinance of Labourers was passed in an attempt to keep pay the same as pre-plague levels. In 1352 Parliament cited violations with wages at x2 and x3 pre plague levels. Stocks were ordered to be set up in every town for offenders. The black death broke out again in the Spring of 1361, but there was a low incidence of the pneumonic form so the death rate was lower, it was said to affect the young, particularly males. The population of Britain was estimated at between 3.5-5 million before 1348 and 2 million in 1377. Plague returned to England again in
After the Black Death took the cities, shortly after it spread into the villages and farms. Killing the farm workers, the Black Death left crops not gathered which led to a shortage of food supplies and people to starve. Because of the mortality and the labor shortage, prices of goods dropped while the wages rose. Landowners were so desperate that they tried everything to keep the peasants to work for them. This gave the perfect opportunity for the laborers to demand higher wages how much they were valued. During the epidemic, the societies in Europe found their own ways to live through the Black Death. Some people thought that it God that created the plague, so he can punish the people because of their sins. Other people tried to enjoy as much as possible their last moments of their lives because they knew they would eventually die. Day and night people were getting drunk and move from one tavern to another and satisfying every last-minute wish they could. A social long-term consequence of the Black Death was that people lost their faith and were against God because he could not save them from the epidemic. Another consequence covers the economic change of the lower and middle-class people. During the 14th century peasants were at the very bottom but thanks to the Black Death their lives changed dramatically. After the epidemic was over, they were very
A hierarchical society of Kings granting land to nobles, who would then give a fief to a knight in return for service. The knight would then have peasants or serfs working on their fief. However, as the plague spread, many peasants died and their labour could not be replaced. This loss of workforce had a significant impact upon the economy as grain was not being harvested and livestock roamed free. The agrarian economy had been severely damaged, the land became uncultivated and returned back to its natural state.
The most sever epidemic in human history, The Black Death ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed many villages. The Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms that contributed to the crisis of the Fourteenth Century. This plague not only took a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years to follow. The Black Death divides the central and the late Middle Ages. This horrible catastrophe that occurred in 1348, swept through Europe causing numerous changes.