Essay On The Black Plague

"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death" continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty-five years before "The Black Death," exports, agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death" contributed a large part to all of this destruction and led to important changes in the social and economic structure of the country (Ziegler 234-235). The plague touched every aspect of social life (Herlihy 19). There was hardly a generation that was not affected by the plague (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Families were set against each other - the well rejecting the sick (www.byu.edu). Families left each other in fear. Many people died without anyone looking after them. When the plague appeared in a house, frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Due to this, the plague spread more rapidly because people were not aware that being in the same house with the infected person had already exposed them to it. Physicians could not be found because they had also died. Physicians who could be found wanted large sums of money before they entered the house (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). When the

The Black Death was one of the most life-changing pandemics in history. It was first discovered 550 years later in the 1800s by Alexandre Yersin, a french biologist. In his honor, the plague was named Yersinia Pestis. The plague traveled in two major ways. Yersin discovered that it traveled by infected fleas; the flea would attempt to feed on a human or animal and would then regurgitate the disease into the new host, further spreading the illness. Urban areas across Europe were populous with rats, which were one of the main hosts of the plague. These rodents spread the Black Death throughout cities in days. The unaffected still were not safe if they did not come in contact with an infected flea or rat. The plague also traveled pneumonically, or through the air. It caused large boils full of blood and pus, which would pop and spread. Another symptom was coughing, which was one of the many ways of proliferation. The disease eventually spread throughout Europe and killed a third of it’s population. It’s wrath caused many shortages, loss in hope, riots, and even some good things, such as many changes in art, science, and education. Therefore, the Black Death was one of the most life-changing pandemics in history.

Essay The black plague began in Central Asia in 1348 and spread to predominantly Christian areas including Europe and Africa (Doc 1). Although the Egyptian statistics are not as accurate as Christian ones, all of them show that there was approximately a thirty-three percent mortality rate when exposed to the plague (Doc 2). From two accounts, one muslim and one christian, the black plague is described as a horrible and fatal condition.

In the 14th century the Black Death engulfed Europe killing an estimated 50 million people. The pandemic is considered extraordinary because it did so in a matter of months. This disease was carried by fleas, the Bubonic Plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, found mainly in rodents, in this case in rats, and the fleas that feed on them.

Leading up to the Black Plague in Europe, there were many other plague outbreaks around it, such as the one in the East Roman empire in the sixth century. In 1348 the Bubonic Plague was introduced to the European nations from a type of bacteria called Yersinia pestis which can be carried by fleas that are on the backs of rats,

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.

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 first major European outbreak of the plague occurred 1347 in Italy. The plague is a bacterium carried by fleas. It likely originated in Asia, but shipboard rats carried diseased fleas to Europe where the densely populated and unsanitary conditions made it catastrophic. The most common bubonic plague results in dark colored buboes (swollen lymph glands in the armpits and groin). These black or dark spots led to the name Black Death because most people who had the swollen dark spots died. The medicine available to people during this time was of no affect. In fact in his popular book, In The Wake of The

“In any given period, the plague accomplished its work in three to six months and then faded from view. The plague came and went like a tornado -- its appearance and movement was totally unpredictable. In northern cities, the plague lay dormant in winter and then reappeared the following spring. In 1349, the plague reappeared at Paris and eventually spread to Holland , Scotland and Ireland . In Norway , a ghost shipped drifted offshore for months before it ran aground with its cargo of death. By the end of 1349, Sweden , Denmark , Prussia , Iceland and Greenland felt the full effects of the plague. The plague left nearly as quickly as it had appeared. By mid-1350, the plague had completed its deed across the continent of Europe ”. 3

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.

The Black Death According to historians, the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, was one of the most destructive plagues in history. The plague killed an estimated 350-375 million people in the Late Middle Ages between 1346-1353.How did this powerful pandemic start? How did the Black Death change the life of people in Europe? The Black Death led to civil wars and revolts, but it also created new opportunities in Europe.

The outbreak of the Black Death is believed to have started in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and to have existed for centuries in parts

The plague had killed about one third of Europe's population, almost 25 million people. It was said by an Italian author, Boccaccio, “‘If I and others had not witnessed it with our own eyes, I should dare not believe it”’(McCabe 50). There were very few people left to work, so overall prices rose. “The Ordinance of Laborers (1349) tried to legislate a return to pre-plague wage levels, but the overwhelming shortage of laborers meant that wages continued to rise”(Ross 53). Landowners that needed laborers tried to make the best offer, since laborers were so limited.

The sign that gave the disease its name was black spots on the skin where the skin had died. The tragic disease known as the Black Death went through Europe in the years 1348-53. The tragedy was extraordinary. In the course of just a few months, 60 per cent of Florence’s population died from the plague. The Black Death was the most shocking disease that has impacted human kind.

The black death was a disease triggered by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Yersinia pestis is a bacterium transmitted by rodents,