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Social economic effects of black death
Social economic effects of black death
Social economic effects of black death
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Sometimes events occur that can change history. For example, in Europe during the mid-1300s, the outbreak of the Black Plague significantly altered Europe’s stability. The Black Plague was a pandemic that seriously impacted Europe’s population. Once it attacked Europe, it decreased its population by 30-60%, killing 25 million people. Despite efforts to inhibit the spread of the Black Plague, the disease dispersed, revolutionizing Europe’s religious, economic, and social structure.
The Black Death’s origins and ability to spread was swift and devastating. The plague first entered Europe in October 1347, when after a vast voyage through the Black Sea, a dozen Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina (History). The people
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of Sicily met at the docks to greet the ships and welcome them back. However, a horrifying shock met them there. Almost all of the crew members on board the ships were dead or severely ill (History). Both the dead and ill sailors were coated in obscure black boils that oozed pus and blood (History). Authorities of Sicily immediately commanded the fleets of ships to depart from the docks, but little did they know the deathly disease had already entered Europe (History). One out of every three people died of the Black Plague. This death rate is more devastating than any war in history (Esler, 269). During the mid-14th century, there seemed to be no reasonable explanation for how the plague was passed on from one person to another (History). It was not until the end of the 19th century when French biologist Alexandre Yersin discovered that the Black Death was spread by a bacillus, or bacteria, called Yersina pestis (History). Other scientists discovered that the bacteria went from person to person by the bite of contaminated rats and fleas and by being airborne (History). Before the time of the Black Plague, people took no notice to rats invading ships, towns, and homes of the rich because this took place so often (Esler, 270). Those infected fleas infested European’s clothing and packs of traders traveling west by springing on the backs of rats (Esler, 270). The Black Plague altered Europe’s religious structure.
Before the drastic spread of the plague, almost all things were under the authority of the Church such as daily routines engaged in prayer and Church instruction on what is right and wrong (The Black Death. N.). When the plague arrived in Europe, many people turned to the Church asking questions and expecting answers. However, the Church had no response to the cause of many deaths because they were unaware (The Black Death. N.). In response to this, the Church lost its influence on followers and follower’s views on the Church shifted (The Black Death. N.). During and after the plague, of all the Church members lost, not all were sufferers of the disease. Most turned away because the Church they had always assumed was all powerful, could provide no answers or guidance in the time of this drastic crisis (The Black Death. N.). There were three primary aspects leading to the decrease of followers. These aspects were a failure to aid to suffering, the inability of new priests, and the Church gaining fortune while everyone was in distress (The Black Death. N.). The Church was able to gain all of this wealth by charging money for services (The Black Death. …show more content…
N.). Healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Healthy doctors refused to take care of ill patients, and healthy priests rejected to administer last rites to the dying (History). To save their reputations, doctors instructed patients to go to confession, but those patients were quickly rejected by priests. As a consequence, both doctor’s and priest’s good reputations declined due to refusing to see patients and being unaware of what to do (The Black Death. N.). With multiple more deaths then there were priests, Pope Clement VI was strained to offer remission of sins to all of those who died due to the Black Death and to permit confession (The Black Death. N.). The King of Tharsis set out with his nobles planning to search out the pope at Avignon, or Pope Clement VI, to have himself baptized as a Christian. The king assumed that God prevented the plague from infecting Christians. He traveled for just under three weeks. However, once he heard the plague had infected Christians, he reversed his journey and headed back to his homeland. Ironically, the Christians followed them and stroke them from the rear (Knighton). Followers supposed the plague was sent from God as a divine-punishment for their sins, and the only way to overcome it was to acquire God’s forgiveness (History). Nevertheless, a numerous amount of people raised sinful conduct, controverting that nothing mattered anymore because everyone was dying. Little to no people prayed for salvation (The Black Death. N.). One-way people tried to cope with the Black Death was by the practice of flagellants. In this practice, people whipped themselves with leather thongs in order to prevent to “wrath of God (The Black Death. N.).” A few other ways people attempted to withstand the horror and uncertainty of the Black Plague were chafing about the state in which their souls were, and attacking and lashing out at neighbors (History). The Black Plague transformed Europe’s economic structure. Sudden and severe inflation underwent in the economy. Because it was such a dilemma to produce goods and to trade, the prices of goods soared (Decameron). The cost of grain and other food products, which primarily decreased due to the drop in demand, progressed again as the supply came down and the price of supplying it went up (Euroform). Due to the death and illness that hit Europe, the amount of workers in the work force became extremely low (Decameron). Serfs, or slaves, were no longer bound to just a single master. If their master let them go, then another one would instantly employ them (Decameron). Workers and farmers migrated away from the country side, abandoning their unattended land and crops (Euroform). Because there were large fields of unattended crops, sheep and cattle pranced throughout them, and there was no one to drive them off (Knighton). With all of the deaths and illness, it was extremely difficult for small business. They fled their shops. These workers just only were not there to proceed on with their businesses, but they were not there to educate a new generation (Euroform). The Black Plague modified Europe’s social structure. During the plague, people became so frantic to save themselves, they deserted their ill and dying loved ones, running away from cities, and closing themselves off from the world (History). Some people felt that they should follow the saying, “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you maybe die (Decameron).” More than half of the population was either sick and dead from the plague.
Those who were sick, turned to whatever they could think of for a cure. Others that were very ill turned to reckless enjoyments, presuming their time to die was soon (Esler, 270). Because of the massive amount of deaths, their bodies were not correctly nursed. Large graves were dug out to place multiple bodies due to the limited amount of space. This was against teachings and beliefs people had (The Black Death. N.). A Florentine chronicler relates that:
“All of the citizens did little else except to carry dead bodies to be buried […] and thus those who were poor who died during the night were bundled up quickly and thrown into the pit. In the morning when a large number of bodies were found in the pit, they took some earth and shoveled it down on top of them; and later others were placed on top of them and then another layer of earth, just as one makes lasagna with layers of pasta and cheese (The Black Death:
The). Europe’s religious, economic, and social structure was transformed due to the rapid spread of the Black Plague. People’s views on the Church and their religion faded because there were no answers to the plague. Workers, business, and agricultural structures were completely transfigured due to the many deaths and illnesses Europe suffered. Because of the fear of this epidemic, people deserted their dying loved ones and dead bodies were not properly cared for. The effects of the pandemic suffered by Europeans was a historically global situation leaving suture generations to realize the impact and reality of a contagious disease.
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).”
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...
During the expansion of trade European traders traveled the black sea region regularly which was a sea located between far southeastern Europe and the far western edges of Asia. The Black Death was introduced to Europe in October 1347 when twelve Genoese The disease was caused by a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis which was carried by fleas that lived on the black rats. These rodents helped spread the plague. The diseases spread one of two ways.
If there is one part of life that humans have trouble overcoming it is natural disasters. They are unexpected, incurable, and often unconquerable. One specific type of natural disaster is that of sickness. Plagues are disastrous evil afflictions of an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality ( Merriam-Webster ). A historically famous plague in the fourteenth and fifteenth century is the Black or Bubonic Plague. The social and economic affects of the plague in Europe were detrimental to the population and economy.
It cannot be argued that the Black Plague was detrimental to every aspect of Europe’s communities. It was a powerful epidemic that wiped out a third of the continent’s population. Out of the midst of all its terror, however, positive after effects presented themselves. Some of these effects included revolutions in the church and society, eventually leading to the separation of church and state. Feudalism was also challenged as peasants demanded wages and revolted. Along with social changes came technological innovations, new inventions, and an attention to hygiene and the beginning of modern medicine. The plague may have devastated Europe, but it also gave way to a new era.
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
These theories would create a change in the people’s belief system while the scientific minds of the time under the leadership of the King would argue that the black plague was a result of stars aligning or a polluted fog that would eventually clear up. Because the doctors had blamed the plague on a polluted fog, their remedy was to prevent the fog. Initially they would burn fires to prevent misting or fogs and they would also use incense to decrease the chance of catching the disease. As we have done in modern times, they were also warned against eating meats or certain types of fruits, recommend against bathing in public places and, or having sex. Another method used was to bleed the patients in order to draw the toxin out of the blood. Although many Christians had become disgruntled at the lack of answers from their priests, many continued to turn to the church for a cure, they would pray to God to end through practicing a very extreme religious sacrifice such as self-flagellation and the persecuting of the Jewish people, who at the time seemed to be immune from the black plague. Those who survived the plague suffered from an identity crisis in their faith. Instead of a deeper understanding of their faith many resented their church leaders because the lack of answers and assistance. Even
The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemic that hit Europe in history. The Black Death first emerged in the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348 (Gottfried,1). The plague came from several Italian merchant ships which were returning to Messina. Several sailors on board were dying of an unknown disease and a few days after arriving in Messina, several residents within and outside of Messina were dying as well (Poland 1). The Black Death was as deadly as it was because it was not limited by gender, age, or species. The Black Death was also very deadly because it could attack in three different forms: the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague.
The church also helped the spread of the plague. The priests, from the catholic church, went from house to house visiting the sick. The priest would visit the sick person to anoint them before they died. This was a catholic belief and is still done today. It is called anointing of the sick, it is a sacrament in the catholic faith. This caused the disease to spread rapidly because the priest would visit a sick person and become infected. He then would ...
In 1348, people from all around the world suffered from one of the most deadliest and cruel diseases known as the Black Death. The plague killed so many people in Europe that some of the villages were abandoned and the population of some cities was decreased by half. Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer and poet who eye-witnessed and described the horrors caused by the Black Death in his novels Decameron. In Boccaccio’s work, the sick people were left behind to survive on their own and even children were left behind by their parents because they were sick. Unfortunately, from all the people who died during the epidemic, the peasants were those who actually benefited from it. The Black Death end up with political,
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.
How to Survive a Plague (2012) is a documentary about the story of two coalitions, ACT-UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group). Both groups dedicate their time and energy to stop AIDS from being the deadly disease that it has been for years and is only getting worse. Those affected by the disease were primarily of the LGBT community. Those with AIDS struggled to see progress with research for a cure because of those who held leadership roles had in certain religious views along with a lack of political interest. As millions of individuals were dying from this abhorrent disease, the two coalitions continued to protest and advocate for change. Through their actions, an effective treatment was found for AIDS. Their actions even led to the LGBT community
The Black Death first appeared in Sicily around October 1347, abroad Genoese trading ships that had sailed from the port of Caffa. The men on these ships were diseased and dying with black swellings and boils all over their body and most died within five days. The Black Death had made its way to Europe, and started to wreak havoc on the population. By January 1348, the plague had reached Paris and by August it was in England. Populations sharply decreased as the plague took its toll, indiscriminate in its killing. Worse of all, it wasn’t just one disease that was killing off whole populations- there were two differ...
The Black Death is now known to be spread by a flea. However, this flea was not the cause as it was the bacterium which lay in the stomach of the flea. This bacterium’s scientific name is Yersinia pestis. The main host of the flea is a rat, scientifically called Rattus rattus. Humans caught the disease because when the rats bred rapidly, it would lead to a population invasion. When the rat died, the flea would have to find another warm-blooded host to feed on, and next to them are humans. The flea bites the human and infects them. The unhygienic living conditions in the Middle Ages led to a faster spread of the disease, as a result creating a better environment for rats to live in. The lack of knowledge in the fourteenth century led to even worse remedies.
An epidemic that claimed a third of Europe’s population was a calamitous disease called The Black Death. The disease spread through fleas carried by rats that traveled on boats going on trade routes to the major boat docks. It hit Europe at weak state when famine was common, over-population, harvest failures, and constant war. It happened between the late 1340s to the early 1350s. The plague originated in Eastern Asia, killing millions on its way to Western Europe. The Black Death was able to spread quite rapidly because the lack of people not knowing the cause. Many went to the religious conclusion that it was a punishment from god for the sins of the people. “Some people took more extreme measures. Lamenting their