A virulent plague consumed millions of corpses; war raged on for multiple generations, and famine struck an overpopulated Europe. Even as many tragedies befell the European people, the crisis of fourteenth century eventually proved itself to be a blessing in disguise, albeit a very lethal one. The first hardship, the Little Ice Age, afflicted northern Europe in 1315 and reached the south by 1347, creating a dearth of food. The Black Death then wiped out a third of European inhabitants in the middle of the century. Many wars erupted, but the Hundred Years War between England and France resulted in the most deaths and caused heavy taxation for these countries from 1337 to 1452. The Ottoman Turks began to attack European settlements in the east, …show more content…
Farmers could reintroduce the inventions of the thirteenth century into society, using them cultivate their newly inherited lands. Larger plows and improved horseshoes allowed for greater harvests and the ability to feed the larger populations. Europeans improved upon the designs of both the water mill and the windmill, utilizing the power for the processing of grain, cloth, paper, and metals. Wages increased and farmers had more bountiful harvests on the abundant land. The idea of capitalism replaced feudalism in many towns, and farmers that produced more crops received more money. Non-agriculture Europeans congregated in the cities, and the urban population increased resulting in the rebound of trade and production. Western Europe contained 56 universities by the early fifteenth century, and the printing press increased book production along with literacy rates. Many texts on natural philosophy encouraged scholars to assume an open mind on learning from other civilizations. Travel manuscripts and maps spread across Europe, encouraging mariners to explore and discover new lands. Western Europeans, with a desire for new territories and contempt towards Arabs and Turks, expanded past their continental boundaries to …show more content…
The Genoese and Venetians held the role of middlemen in Mediterranean trade, abhorred by the Kingdoms of Iberia for their incredible markups. Genoa received Asian goods through Constantinople, and the Venetians received the treasures of the Indian Ocean through Egypt. Constantly competing with one another, the two city-states would increases prices on goods, impacting Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, and British trade, five nations that played dominant roles in New World colonization. The Iberian seafaring nations hoped to sail directly to the Indian Ocean and avoid this middleman. The Portuguese in particular were determined to find the “River of Gold,” a river in the Ghana Empire where the gold trade thrived. As written by the Portuguese explorer Duarte Pacheco Pereira, “so much gold and other rich merchandise would be found as would maintain the King and people of these realms of Portugal in plenty.” As the Portuguese made financial gains in Africa, the Castilians hoped to reach the Spice Islands by funding Christopher Columbus’ journey. After the discovery of the new world, other Europeans nations began to colonize the Americas in search of any goods that would result in profit. International trade was the key to wealth, and the competition to monopolize merchandise fostered an environment in which
In the late Middle Ages the worst evil known to man terrorized Europe. People were dropping dead everywhere and there was no place to put them. This vicious culprit was known as the Black Plague. During the 14th century in Europe millions of people died from the plague and the plague brought about great change. Before the plague there was peace and prosperity in the High Middle Ages and after the plague things were different. Historians consider the outbreak of the Black Plague a watershed moment because of great social, religious and economical changes.
My final thoughts towards English 1301 would probably be described in one word which would be awesome; from what I learned in class will help me out towards my path to the future I understand that I still have some errors as I write essays or journals; but I will like to believe that I will get better as I stay in English and I work more on my dents that I have.
In the words of David Arnold, gold, jewels, silks, carpets, spices, and porcelain suggested luxury, wealth, skilled artisans and thriving craft industries, and it was this image of Africa and Asia’s riches that helped inspire the first European voyages of discovery (Arnold 11). Europe could essentially see the wealth of the countries that manufactured the goods that Europe received and wanted the same wealth
Among three devastating events of the fourteenth century, I consider the Black Death(Plague) had the most pronounced impact on the course of medieval history. Although, other two events were also left an impact on the course of medieval history, but there is no such comparison to the black Plague. The changing climate and poor harvests which lead to famine, malnourishment, and death was just the beginning of troublous period on Europe’s. Europe was already suffering from famine, but more devastating time has just arrived along with the medieval shipping. Plague first started from china, and soon brought by Genoese ships to Europe, which was the ticking time bomb waiting its own time to burst. It has start spreading throughout many parts of
Another important event was the Great Famine. It was a period of starvation in Ireland. Many peasants could not provide for themselves when the potato crop failure hit them. The Irish relied on potatoes as one of their main food sources. The crops were ruined by a "blight" which is an early frost that kills off the roots of the plant. This was the worst famine Europe had ever experienced. The next event that was important was The Hundred Years' War. It was fought between France in England between 1337 to 1453. There were two factors that contributed to the war which were fighting over territory that Great Britain owned but France claimed as their own and second that the British claimed the crown of France because the closest relatives of the latest King had died. The war lasted for over a hundred years. Lastly, the Black Death served an important role in history of the Middle Ages. The Black Death was one of the worst breakouts to this day. Over 20 million people died. The first known outbreak was when trading ships docked at a Sicilian port of Messina and the sailors aboard were found either dead or deathly
The Black Death was a plague that overwhelmed Europe at the beginning of the 1350's. During the time of the plague, nearly half of Europe's population was killed by the Black Death. Many people believe that it was brought to Europe via the trade routes to and from Asia. As soon as it arrived, the Bubonic Plague spread vigorously, claiming the lives of all ages. The insufficient knowledge of the plague, the lack of help from people, and the extinguished hope people felt during the period helped lead to the devastation of European society.
The second problem was the Black Death, which was a bacteria that infected rats. As towns became over crowded and food became scarce, hundreds of millions of rats migrated to the towns. People lived with the rats in filthy conditions, allowing the fleas that became infected while infesting the rats to attack people and infect them too. Some historical sources claim up to 2/3 of Europe’s population were affected and half died. Lastly, European powers were constantly locked in power struggles such as the 100 Years War between England and France. Thousands were killed or crippled over sometimes only a few kilometres of territory.
During the age of exploration and colonization, Portuguese mariners first found success in establishing trade along the African coast. They set up trading posts on offshore island using a new ship design, planting a variety of crops and trading commodities with people along the coast. Additionally, Vasco da Gama travelled around the tip of Africa to trade with East Africa and India. While their most of their goods were seen as inferior, da Gama returned with fighting vessels and established trading posts in the Indian Ocean by using force.
The plague of the black death was a panic and disaster in Western Europe because it leads the death of ⅓ of the population. It quickly spread all over the continent, destroying full towns and cities. Moreover, the plague reached its peak of destructions in 1349, which was a “wretched, terrible, destructive year, the remnants of the people alone remain.” Life before the black death arrived for the serfs it was unpleasant and short. Nevertheless, Europe before the black death arrived was successful and the trade at the time was strong. The spread of the plagues was traumatic and unexpected because it spread so quickly.
The Black Plague, also known as Black Death, the Great Mortality, and the Pestilence, is the name given to the plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. It is said to be the greatest catastrophe experienced by the western world up to that time. In Medieval England, the Black Death killed 1.5 million people out of an estimated 4 million people between 1348 and 1350. There was no medical knowledge in England to cope with the disease. After 1350, it stroke England another six times by the end of the century.
"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 pandemic known to history as the Black Death was one of the world’s worst natural disasters in history. It was a critical time for many as the plague hit Europe and “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.” The plague made an unforgettable impact on the history of the West. It is believed to have originated somewhere in the steppes of central Asia in the 1330s and then spread westwards along the caravan routes. It spread over Europe like a wildfire and left a devastating mark wherever it passed. In its first few weeks in Europe, it killed between 100 and 200 people per day. Furthermore, as the weather became colder, the plague worsened, escalating the mortality rate to as high as 750 deaths per day. By the spring of 1348, the death toll may have reached 1000 a day. One of the main reasons the plague spread so quickly and had such a devastating effect on Europe was ultimately due to the lack of medical knowledge during the medieval time period.
During the early years of the fourteenth century, Western Europe, was starting to slowly recuperate from the fall of the Roman empire. Conflicts with invasive vikings and threatening Islamic nations lessened, making it easier for Europe to flourish in military, political, and economical power. There are many factors that influenced the success of Europe during this time which included agriculture and technological advances. Most European economies during the early middle ages were dependent on the success of agriculture. New technologies such as the wheeled-plow, wheelbarrow, watermills, and old hand tools being made out of iron enhanced the growing agriculture revolution. Compared to the traditional Mediterranean plows, the wheeled-plows made it extremely easier to cultivate the opulent soil. Along with the improvement of the plows, collars and harnesses for farm animals were revised, allowing them to tug heavier loads without suffocating. Iron horse shoes and the harnessing of pairs of horses made the domesticated animals simple to work with. Iron was not only exclusive for the horses but was also converted into other tools such as hoes, forks, shovels, or scythes. Watermills provided power to grind grain, saw lumber, press olive oil, iron forges, and even played an important role in making paper. All of these life-changing inventions heightened productivity all of Europe. Politics took advantages on these inventions too such as the watermill. Creative thinkers like monks
The Black Death, the most severe epidemic in human history, ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed at least 1,000 villages. Greatly contributing to the Crisis of the Fourteenth Century, the Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms. Not only did the Black Death take a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years following.
The thirteenth century saw the arrival of the Black Death, which was one of the most destructive pandemics to strike Europe during the mid thirteenth century. It was believed to have been brought aboard ships from Asia, it “arrived in Messina, Sicily, in October 1347 and then landed in London around 1348, without waning until the spring of 1350. It is “generally assumed to have killed between one third and one half of the populace” but being carried over to Scotland, it was being spread and began to rejuvenate its wrath “in the spring of 1350” there, before making its way over southward to Wales then back up into Ireland. The plague reappeared in “1361-64, 1368, 1371, 1371-75, 1390, 1405 and continued into the fifteenth century.” The result was a dramatic reduction in population, a surplus of luxury goods, land and money to those who would not have otherwise had access to it; and, an increased need for laborers. Because of the increase in prosperity in the aftermath of the darkness spread by the Black Death, there was a need for political change away from structures that were created during periods of great instability. Between 1337 and 1453, The Hundred Years War between England and