Dbq The Black Death

Christian and Muslim responses to the black death were different. They believed in different causes, different treatments, and had different views on the plague. Although this may be true, they can be similar due to both thinking it is a punishment. However, Christian and Muslim responses were mainly different. To put it another way, both Christians and Muslims were both affected hard but handled it in their own way.

In 1346 European traders began to hear reports about earthquakes, floods, locusts, famine, and plague in faraway China. They knew very little then that the plague they were hearing about would follow the same trade routes to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe that they themselves used. (doc. 1) In five short years, the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered. (doc 2) So how different were the Christian and Muslim responses? In 1348 Christianity and Islam came face to face with the Black Death. (doc. 3A) In truth, Muslims and Christians responded in many different ways. Their ideas for what caused the Black Death were somewhat different from each other also. Even the way they thought they could cure the

Religion has always been a major theme in history, and even now does not fail to play an important role. The desire to gain more believers and convert people makes up the base of the reason for the differences in Muslim and Christian responses the Black Plague. As Gabriele de Mussis, a Christian chronicler during the Black Death, states, “I am overwhelmed, I can’t go on!...The hand of the Almighty strikes repeatedly to greater and greater effect.” On the contrary, Muhammad al Manbiji, an Islamic scholar, said that “…the plague is a blessing from God; at the least, a Muslim should devoutly accept the divine act.” (doc. 4) These two viewpoints of the plague are complete opposites; Christians are overwhelmed that their population is dying out while Muslims are accepting it as a blessing that their rival religion is suffering. These documents were combined to emphasize the contrast between

The infamous plague, known as the Black Death, was a deadly disease which managed to spread throughout Europe and the Middle East in the 14th century. Although both the Europeans and the Empires of Islam experienced the Black Death, each region had different responses and reasons for the causes of the disease. Empires of Islam viewed the plague as a blessing from God while Europeans believed it was a punishment from Him. As a result of the Black Death, Europeans rebelled whereas Empires of Islam respected authority. Europeans used other religions as an explanation for the start of the Black Death while Islamic empires did not blame other religions, but rather had other explanations that caused the disease.

Beginning in the mid-fourteenth century, a plague swept the world like no other. It struck in a series of waves that continued into the eighteenth century. The first wave was estimated to have killed twenty-five million people, about a third of the Western Europe population at that time. Throughout the different outbreaks, the plague, also known as the Bubonic Plague or the Black Death, caused people to react in several ways. Some people believed the plague was a medical problem that can be treated, some found themselves concerned only with their own greed, still others believed there was nothing they could do and reacted in fear, and most people believed it was a form of divine

Norman F. Cantor, In the Wake of the Plague (New York: Harper Collins First Perennial edition, 2001) examines how the bubonic plague, or Black Death, affected Europe in the fourteenth century. Cantor recounts specific events in the time leading up to the plague, during the plague, and in the aftermath of the plague. He wrote the book to relate the experiences of victims and survivors and to illustrate the impact that the plague had on the government, families, religion, the social structure, and art.

Religiously, the plague affected people’s beliefs in the Catholic Church. During the plague, a self torturing cult known as the Flagellants broke out and traveled from town to town whipping themselves. Hoping that they could recreate the Passion of Christ. They felt as if by doing this, they would absolve themselves from their sins and thus avoid the plague (“The Plague” Documentary). These people would today be known as a cult like group, but were soon outlawed by Pope Clement VI in 1349 (The

The Christian and Muslim responses to the Black Death differed greatly. The believed causes for the tragedy differed, along with the reactions that people had. Also, the demographics were different.

The Black Death was a plague that spread from China through the Middle-East to Europe during the mid-14th century. The plague traveled from China through trade routes in the Middle-East, North Africa, and Europe. Christians and Muslims had different responses to the Black Death. In my opinion, Christian and Muslims responded differently because of their views on God, and I will support this in my essay.

Muslims believed that Allah gave the plague and that they should devoutly accept it. Christians and Muslims had different responses to the Black Death, and I will support reasons on my essay. I will also explain the how the Black Death impacted our future and the scientific inquiry on it. First, I will talk about the Christian responses to the Black Death. As I said in my introduction paragraph, Christians thought that whatever they suffer from the Black Death, it was due to their sins from God and Jesus.

The Black Death was a catastrophic event, it caused many innocent people to lose their lives. The people had different responses to the Plague. In this specific DBQ the topic will be “How Different Were Christian and Muslim Responses” (The Black Death: How Different Were Christian and Muslim Responses, 2010). The Christian and Muslims had somewhat different and the same responses. They would either turn to religion or they divert their own path away from religion. Both Christians and Muslims had different theories on why the Black Death came to be. Either it had something to do with their religion or it was a punishment for their sins or they would blame people such as the Jews.

The Black Death significantly changed religious beliefs in medieval Europe as people began to question previously formed concepts. The Black Death was a catastrophic disease which ravaged Europe in the mid-fourteenth century (Burvill-Shaw, 2012). It caused widespread hysteria and confusion, killing approximately 30% to 50% of Europe’s population. The plague is believed to have originated near China, reaching Europe by way of merchant ships that were travelling the Silk Roads (Wikipedia, 2016). The Black Plague had profound effects on religion as firstly, the Church lost its authority over the public.

The Islamic world had suffered at least five major plague epidemics before the Black Death in the 14th century, yet the Black Death was far more

The Christians looked at the Black Death as a sin for all the sins you have done. There was a one third of the population that died. The Christians did not take the plague as humble as the Muslims did. They were looking for something to blame so they blamed the Jews. Evidence shows they took the Black Plague more as a punishment rather than a blessing. The way the Christians reacted to the Black Plague was harsher than the Muslims. The Christians had three theories on how the Black Plague

During the time period of the Black Death, Christians and Muslims had many ways of dealing with the tremendous amount of deaths from the madly. They each dealt with this in both similar ways, and in different ways. From looking up to God for reasoning, to ways they tried to prevent the disease, to blaming the Jews for this horrible disease that killed roughly a third of the population stretching from Europe to Asia.