Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Did the plague cause economic difficulties
What were the effects of the printing press in the Renaissance
Economic effects of the plague
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Did the plague cause economic difficulties
Europe, in the Middle Ages, began to arise with new inventions, like the printing press, that helped many people in that time period, to advance in their education and their labor work, but before all that time, there was the rise of a strong and deadly disease that infected and killed millions of people throughout the world. Before the Black Plague, there were other diseases that had spread around Europe before the Middle Ages but it wasn’t as quickly and deadly as the Black Plague. The Black Plague was found to have come from animals, like rats, but it was mostly from the fleas that were on the rats. The plague in the middle ages had an advantage in Europe due to the overpopulation and the lack of space also because the medicine that was …show more content…
The Black Plague was brought upon Europe through the fleas that were on the bodies of rats. As soon as an infected flea bites a single human, anywhere in the world, they are infected with the deadly virus that the fleas carry. The rats with fleas would climb up into the trade boats and get off at another place spreading the disease to many places in the Middle Ages. But the rats were also affected by the fleas’ virus, the rats could survive with a few bacteria in them but eventually, they will die after a few days of also being infected like the humans. The Black Plague was out of three plagues but it was mostly of the bubonic plague which are the least toxic out of the other plague but it is still highly lethal, killing 50% to 60% of its victims, the pneumonic plague which affects the lungs, and the septicaemic plague which affects the blood. The Black plague is one of the most known plagues in history not only for killing millions of people on earth but also because of it spreading rapidly throughout the …show more content…
The people in Europe were scared and terrified of the plague coming to their village or infecting them. The villages after some time of having the virus would have a crier announcing the day’s death toll. The people that were infected were sometimes shunned wherever they went, not many people would help them. The people that have already died would be immediately moved to the graveyard. The Black Plague lasted for a longer period than any other disease, leaving behind a huge amount of dead bodies that earth could not decompose quickly. The lives of the villagers were rough just by seeing their relatives dying in their homes but also to seeing people die in the streets. What scared the villagers most was the ghost ship, that was filled with rats and fleas and they were also filled with the bodies of the dead sailors that round it. Some people believed that the plague was a punishment from God for the sins that they have committed or that the infected people have
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 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.
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.
At this time however, cold weather and rains wiped out many crops creating a shortage of food for humans. Rats also went through this shortage in food. This made them “crowd in cities, providing an optimal environment for disease”(Karin Lehnardt in 41 Catastrophic Facts about the Black Death). Before the black death spread through Europe, sanitation wasn’t very good. Living conditions were bad so when the black death came to Europe, it spread more rapidly because people were not clean and healthy. Another reason the plague spread so fast was because the dead “bodies were piled up inside and outside city walls where they lay until mass graves could be dug”(Karin Lehnardt in 41 Catastrophic Facts about the Black Death). This made the air very polluted and contributed the spread of the epidemic. In total, the black death killed about thirty million people. This was about one-third the population of Europe. Some towns were completely wiped out. Because of this, medieval people thought everyone would eventually die, although we now know that some populations did survive. Also, because people were not being saved by the church, their beliefs were questioned. Less people dedicated their lives to the church because of this. Both the poor and the rich died but more than one-half the people dead were poor. This was also a result of poor sanitation and living conditions. The Black Death initiated in China in the early 1340’s
Why was the Plague so devastating to Europe during the 1300’s? During this time, knowledge of human biology was extremely limited. This is partially due to a papal bull issued by Pope Boniface VIII that forbid the dissection of corpses. 10. Italy was hit particularly hard as it was a major center of trade and many things went in and out; it was very susceptible to the plague.
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...
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 Black Plague came to Europe at a time referred to as the late middle ages. At this time, the quality of living was looking better than in the past
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.
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 Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
The Middle Ages are known for its abundant amount of deaths from plagues and wars. Let’s first look at what happened particularly in Europe during these Middle Ages. In 1347 the Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, arrived in Italy. The disease caused bulbous growths and sores filled with pus to appear on the body. It made victims of the illness look like “a skeleton, with black and blue splotches” (Friedlander) stained onto the face. Friedlander also stated that within two years, the plague had slaughtered “over 20 percent of the population of Europe.” This disease spread like a forest fire across the country and killed a total of 75 million people, almost 50% of Europe’s overall population. In addition to this, the smallpox epidemic swept through Paris, France and killed 50,000 individuals in 1438, most of whom were children. According to Friedlander this disease was a “virus that spreads from person to person, by touch or through breathing or coughing.” The danger level of the sickness fluctuated between people and their immune systems, some being as deadly as or even deadlier than the bubonic plague, and showed no mercy on smal...
The plague was spread by fleas, which were not effected by the disease. Fleas first infected the rats, which lived off garbage and sewage. The rats then spread the infection to the humans. Rats were a common sight in the cities, due to the poor sanitary conditions, so no one suspected them (www.tartans.com). In the winter the plague seemed to disappear, but only because fleas were dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims (www.byu.edu). The effects of the plague were devastating. After just five years, twenty-five million people were dead - one third of Europe's population. Once people were infected they infected others very rapidly. As a result, in order to avoid the disease, many fled to the countryside where the lower population density helped to decrease the speed at which the disease spread (www.tartans.com). From a person's time of infection to his or her death was less than one week (www.home.nycap.rr.com). The plague became known as "The Black Death" because of the discoloration of the skin and black enlarged lymph nodes that appeared on the second day of contracting the disease. The term "The Black Death" was not invented until after 1800. Contemporaries called it "the pestilence" (Cantor 7).
The plague that swept across Europe between 1348 and 1350 devestated medieval Europe. According to one report, Europe had lost one-third to half of its population due to the plague (xyz). Consequently, everyone lived in fear believing that they too, will fall victim to the plague. The wealthy tried to buy their salvation, doctors stop attending to the sick, priest feared giving the dead their last rights, parents were afraid to attend to their sick children, and religions became suspicious of other religions. People abandoned one another while fear and ignorance swept over Europe.
The Black Death was a terrible plague that not only hit Medieval Europe, but also Asia and North Africa (Spielvogel 300). The plague is known as one of the most devastating natural disasters to ever occur in Europe. Bubonic plague, one of the least toxic forms of the illness, killed 60 percent of those who were infected, making the total number of fatalities to be incredibly high (Spielvogel 301). Nobody really knew what exactly they were dealing with. There was no medical cure, vaccination, or treatment for the illness. No doctors could come up with a solution, and most every person who showed symptoms died within three days of becoming aware of their conditions (Sherman