The Black Death The Black Death had profound effects on Medieval Europe. Although most people did not realize it at the time, the Black Death had not only marked the end of one age but it also denoted the beginning of a new one, namely the Renaissance. Between 1339 and 1351a.d, a pandemic of plague called the Black Death, traveled from China to Europe affecting the importance of cities, creating economic and demographic crises, as well as political dislocation and realignment, and bringing about powerful new currents in culture and religion. In the beginning, the Italian town of Genoa was one of the busiest ports in Europe. Ships sailed from there to trade all over the Mediterranean Sea. In October of 1347, 12 merchant ships sailed from Caffa to Italy. A strange disease had infected the crew of these ships. Dying bodies lay aboard the ships. City officials, afraid that the disease might spread, issued an order that no person or piece of merchandise was to leave the ships. They even forbade medical treatment for the sick sailors and passengers. The disease still spread. The officials had not considered that the rats from the ships were able to leave the ships by crawling along the ropes that were tied to the ships. From Italy, the disease spread all over Europe, traveling along the major trade routes. The rats were responsible for carrying the disease, which was transmitted by fleas from infected rats. The fleas drank the rats' blood that carried the bacteria. The bacteria multiplied in the flea's gut. While the fleas gut was clogged with bacteria, the flea bit the human and regurgitated blood into the wound. The Black Death came in 3 forms: the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Each different from of the plague killed people in a vicious way. All forms were caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. The bubonic plague was the most commonly seen form of the Black Death. Which had a mortality rate of 30-70%. The symptoms were enlarged and inflamed lymph nodes (around armpits, neck and groin). The term "bubonic" refers to the characteristic bubo or enlarged lymphatic gland. Victims were subject to headaches, nausea, aching joints, fever of 101-105 degrees, vomiting, and a general feeling of illness. Symptoms took from 1-7 days to appear. The pneumonic plague was the second most commonly seen form of the Black Deat... ... middle of paper ... ...mand fairer treatment. Lastly, the change in spirituality was one of the major effects of the plague. The Black Death left survivors mourning, depressed, and fearful of its return. One of the groups that suffered the most was the Christian Church. It lasts prestige, spiritual authority, and leadership over the people. The church promised cures, treatment, and an explanation for the plague. They said it was God's will, but the reason for this awful punishment was unknown. People wanted answers, but the priests and bishops didn't have anything to say. The people abandoned their Christian duties and fled. People prayed to God and begged for forgiveness. After the plague ended, angry and frustrated villagers started to revolt against the church, this caused the churches to be abandoned. The Black Death changed European history in many ways. Its fatal symptoms took many human lives, and its influenced carried over into many areas of society. People suffered religiously because the disease brought out the darker side of life and made them question God. Europe would not be the same today without these changes brought on through the devastation of the Black Death.
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).”
The Black Death changed the medieval European society totally in a positive way. In medieval Europe before the plague, European countries had the manorialism, which the society was divided into distinctive sections. Peasants and serfs had to live in a manor and listen to their lords. They needed to work for the lord and got
The Black Death (also called the "plague" or the "pestilence", the bacteria that causes it is Yersinia Pestis) was a devastating pandemic causing the death of over one-third of Europe's population in its major wave of 1348-1349. Yersinia Pestis had two major strains: the first, the Bubonic form, was carried by fleas on rodents and caused swelling of the lymph nodes, or "buboes", and lesions under the skin, with a fifty-percent mortality rate; the second, the pneumonic form, was airborne after the bacteria had mutated and caused fluids to build up in the lungs and other areas, causing suffocation and a seventy-percent mortality rate.
The Black Death fundamentally changed the way that medieval society operated. Outdated systems like manorialism collapsed and an ideological revolution occurred within the sciences. While these changes did come at a high cost, their benefits to society were immense, and they helped medieval Europe become a more modern society. Had the Black Death not occurred, many scientific advancements would have been stalled and obsolete economic systems would have been sustained. In conclusion, by destroying what had previously been accepted, the Black Death caused a reshuffling of the socioeconomic and scientific practices of medieval Europe.
Sweeping through Western Europe during the fourteenth century, the Bubonic Plague wiped out nearly one third of the population and did not regard: status, age or even gender. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Bubonic Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. The Plague was thought to be spread by the dominating empire during this time, the Mongolian Empire, along the Silk Road. The Bubonic Plague was an infectious disease spread by fleas living on rats, which can be easily, be attached to traveler to be later spread to a city or region. Many factors like depopulation, decreasing trade, and huge shifts in migrations occurred during the Bubonic Plague. During Bubonic Plague there were also many different beliefs and concerns, which include fear, exploitation, religious and supernatural superstition, and a change of response from the fifteenth to eighteen century.
In 1347, Europe began to perceive what the Plague had in store. Terrible outcomes arose when the citizens caught the Plague from fleas. The transfer of fleas to humans caused the outbreak of the Black Death. Infections that rodents caught were passed on to fleas, which would find a host to bite, spreading the terrible disease (“Plague the Black Death” n.pag.). When Genoese ships arrived back to Europe from China, with dead sailors and...
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 Black Death was a major factor in the history of Europe as well as the history of the world. Rivaling the effects of an immense bioterrorist attack, the Black Death was responsible for the taking of over 25 million lives. Creating economic, societal, and medical changes, the Black Death forced Europe to essentially recreate its entire groundwork. At the time of the Black Death, medicine remained very archaic,
This affected more than just Europe, it really hurt countries in the Middle East and China. The Black Death was spread by the Mongols and passed into Europe through black rats and fleas. Ships were known to arrive in Europe with many dead bodies and only rats living. Symptoms of the Black Death included puss filled abscesses that ended up turning your whole body black. It is believed that after receiving symptoms of the deadly disease people would only survive a few days. It was feared that the entire population would be wiped out by this devastating plague. People of this age believed the plague had meaning and was related to God, there were different perceptions of why the Bubonic plague happened, although some believed God caused it, others strongly believed that it was not possible for God to commit an act that would cause so many issues to the world and its society. The population that survived the Black Death were traumatized by the events and also affected negatively economically. An effect of the plague was a shortage of labor which caused a shortage of supply and increase in demand of workers and laborers. The whole of Europe had changed because of this event and things such as revolts. Protests, and up rise started to occur in cities all over Europe. The Black Death changed the attitudes and thinking of the people of Europe
The Asian island Cyprus broke out in an Earthquake leaving it a desolate. The earthquake released a poisonous odor which over powered the people of Cyprus practically exterminating the population. This odor is believed to be the beginnings of the Black Plague (Hecker, pg 13). Due to the fact that China was one of the busiest trading centers in the world it was only a matter of time before the bacteria found its way to Europe. In October 1347, Italian sea merchants were traveling from Asia back to Italy. Arriving in Sicily the crew found itself suffering from an indescribable disease.
The Black Plague, perhaps one of the worst epidemics in history, swept its evil across Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing an estimated 20 million people. This major population shift, along with other disasters occurring at the time, such as famine and an already existing economic recession, plunged Europe into a dark period of complete turmoil. Anarchy, psychological breakdowns, and the dissipation of church power were some of the results. As time passed, however, society managed to find new ground and began its long path of recovery. The plague, as catastrophic as it was to medieval Europe, had just as many positive effects that came with this recovery as it did negative effects prior. An end to feudalism, increased wages and innovation, the idea of separation of church and state, and an attention to hygiene and medicine are only some of the positive things that came after the plague. It could also be argued that the plague had a significant impact on the start of the Renaissance.
The Black Death plague had disastrous consequences for Europe in the 14th century. After the initial outbreak in Europe, 1347, it continued for around five years and then mysteriously disappeared. However, it broke out again in the 1360s and every few decades thereafter till around 1700. The European epidemic was an outbreak of the bubonic plague, which began in Asia and spread across trade routes. When it reached Europe, a path of destruction began to emerge.
The Black Death was associated with three types of plague, which were all caused by Yersinia Pestis. The bubonic plague had a mortality rate of 80 percent. It was “spread through the bite of a flea” (The Black Death, 23). The most noticeable symptom is swelling of the lymph nodes. After the outbreak of the symptoms, death would occur within three to six days. Yet, ten to forty percent of people affected by the bubonic plague would recover. The second type was the pneumonic plague and it had a mortality rate of 90% to 95%. The pneumonic plague it is transferred by “respiratory fluids” (The Black Death, 23). The plague kills its victims in a period of two to three days. The third type is the septicemic plague and it had a mortality rate of nearly 100%. This plague “spread through a direct invasion or poisoning of the blood” (The Black Death,
"The Black Death" is known as the worst natural disaster in European history. The plague spread throughout Europe from 1346-1352. Those who survived lived in constant fear of the plague's return and it did not disappear until the 1600s. Not only were the effects devastating at the time of infection, but during the aftermath as well. "The Black Death" of the fourteenth century dramatically altered Europe's social and economic structure.
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, is a raging disease. Most people think of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot. The disease spreads through a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis.