How did the Black Death affect Europe in the Middle Ages?

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The aim of this investigation is to answer the question how did the Black Death affect Europe in the Middle Ages. Because the Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, killing up to a third of the population, it is a significant topic to address. Some issues that must be addressed with this topic are how the black plague affected primarily Europe on a social, political, and economic level. The focus will be from 1347 to 1351, when the plague ran its course, but will also look at the aftermath up to modern times. The book The Black Death by Daniel Cohen and Robert S. Giblin’s book The Black Death; Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe both look like promising resources to successfully complete the investigation.
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Part B: Summary of Evidence
“The Black Death was a combination of bubonic, pneumonic, and septicaemic plague strains. It devastated the Western world from 1347 to 1351, killing 25%-50% of Europe’s population and causing or accelerating marked political, economic, social, and cultural changes.” Bubonic plague is spread by the bite of a flea that has bitten a rat that carries the bacteria that causes the plague, this form is rarely contagious, and death comes about a week after the initial infection. Pneumonic plague, however, is very easily spread from person to person. It also had a mortality rate of about 50% in its bubonic form and 100% in the pneumonic and septicaemic strains.
Europe was not well equipped to be met with such a pandemic. In fact, their lifestyle was a breeding ground for the vermin spreading it. They had no regular garbage collections, and trash accumulated in the streets. The city had no running water, and the people rarely washed their clothes ...

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..., they did what people always strive to do: find something positive from a bad situation.
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Works Cited

"Black Death," World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC CIio. accessed April 8, 2014. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/

Boccaccio, Giovanni. “The Decameron.” Pink Monkey. Last modified 1350. http://pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/b1.pdf

Cohen, Daniel. The Black Death, 1347-1351. New York: World Focus Book, 1941.

Giblin, James Cross. When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.

Gottfried, Robert S. The Black Death; Natural and Human Disaster In Medieval Europe. New York: The Free Press/ A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1983.

Witowski, Erika L. “The Black Death: 1347-1351.” Then Again…, last modified December 12, 1996. http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/westeurope/BlackDeath.html.

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