How Did The Black Death Affect Society

The black death came through Western Europe from 1348-1949. The black death is a deadly disease that killed huge amounts of people. Some names that the black death is known as are the “Bubonic Plague”, “Black Plague”, and “The Plague”. The Black Death is a disease that was spreaded quickly and that is how it killed so many people. It spreaded through cough and touching and thats why it spread so quickly everywhere. The black death was deadly because it caused the skin to die, swelling, pain then death. The black death was a powerful disease and caused many changes to take place in the society.

The Black Death had a massive impact on the economy as states were unable to collect taxes from the peasants as the population was more scatter after the Black Death. Additionally there was no produce to sell many as ports were closed to trade. The mass death of the labourers and peasants led to a shift in power as there was a depleted labour pool. Labourers and peasants were able demanded higher wages and better living conditions. In contrast the economic impact of the Black death was felt by the Noblemen as they were forced to raise the wages to encourage people to stay on their land. Not only did the Noblemen need their tax; peasant were also a

As a result of so much death, many families began to lose money and couldn’t keep businesses or pay taxes. Money in Europe had always been disturbed in this order: Kings, Barons, Knights and lastly, Serfs. As more and more people began to die, the distribution of money was uneven, and people of higher status began to lose their power. This also meant that people of lower status gained power as a result of difficulty to find workers. Due to this and the commonality of surplus land, the price of labor was raised, and the value of land decreased. The economy was being torn apart by deaths of every day people as well. Citizens who owed money died along with all of their family members, and their creditors had to one to collect from. Landlords in the country side stopped letting their serfs be free and tried to force more labor on them. Many peasants demanded higher wages, or fewer burdens. The Jacquerie in 1358, The Peasant’s Revolt in 1381, and the Catalonian Rebellion in 1395 all prove how seriously mortality had disrupted the economy. Revolts like these also damaged another key part of Europe: Social Relations.

The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in history. The disease ravaged Europe, Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa between 1346 and 1353 (Horrox 1994). It is difficult to understand the reality of such a devastating event, especially given the fact that science during the middle ages was severely underdeveloped. No one knew about bacteria, viruses, or other microbial agents of disease (Benedictow 2004). They had no way of protecting themselves during that time and no one was safe from the effects of the plague. Those who wrote chronicles claimed that only a tenth of the population had survived, while others claimed that half to a third of the population was left alive (Horrox 1994). In 1351, agents for Pope Clement VI predicted the number of deaths in Europe to be 23,840,000 (Gottfried 1983). Obviously, not all regions experienced the same mortality rates, but modern estimates of the death rate in England give the first outbreak a mortality rate of about forty-eight percent (Horrox 1994). That is, England lost half of its population in about a year and a half. Clearly the chroniclers ' who claimed that ninety percent of the population had died were overstating the magnitude of the plague, but this overemphasis demonstrates how terrifying the pandemic was to those who experienced it (Horrox 1994). The Black Death had huge consequences on the lives of those who were impacted directly, as well as major religious and cultural effects that came afterward.

History reveals the mid-14th century as a very unfortunate time for Europe. It was during this period when the continent became afflicted by a terrible plague. The source of the pathogen is known today as bubonic but was colloquially known as “The Black Death” to Europeans of the day. The plague caused a tremendous number of deaths and was a catalyst of change, severely impacting Europe’s cultural, political and religious institutions.

Significant events cause society to change in many ways and the Black Death was no exception. The Black Death raged through Europe from 1347 to 1351 killing over 25 million people, almost 50% of the population at the time . The Black Death influenced European society in numerous ways, which have changed the future we currently live in. The Black Death led to medical advancements, weakening in the power of the church and the refining of the feudal system. The Black Death was a time of death and destruction however changes happening at the time benefitted society and led to an age of happiness and prosperity.

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a rapid infectious outbreak that swept over Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s resulting in the death of millions of people. Tentatively, this disease started in the Eastern parts of Asia, and it eventually made its way over to Europe by way of trade routes. Fever and “dark despair” characterized this plague. The highly contagious sickness displayed many flu-like symptoms, and the victim’s lymph nodes would quickly become infected. The contamination resulted in a colossal and rapid spread of the disease within one person’s body. Due to the lack of medical knowledge and physicians, there was little that people could do to save those dying all around them. Now that a better understanding of

As was we all know that The Black Death is one of the tragic events in world history and it has effected many civilizations in early 1300s. This has made many devastating trends within Europe’s borders and raged with many diseases, and other infections. Not only this pandemic event has effected many people, but it has transform Europe’ political, religious, and cultural practices. The Black Death became an outbreak and painful change to western civilization in which it marked history

Monarchs prohibited exports of food stuff, condemned black market speculators, placed price control on grain, and outlawed large-scale fishing. These all contributed to the continent-wide downward spiral. France was unable to sell grain because of crop failures and shortage of labor. Any grain that could be shipped were taken by pirates and looters. Countries in the Hundred Years War depleted treasures, population, and infrastructure. Malnutrition, poverty, disease, and hunger with war, growing inflation and other economic concerns made Europe in the mid-fourteenth century full of tragedy. The social and economic change greatly accelerated during the fourteenth-fifteenth centuries. The church’s power was weakened and some social roles were replaced by secular ones. Peasants began to cause uprisings, such as France, Jacquerie rebellion. The reduction of Europe’s population from thirty-fifty percent could have resulted in higher wages, more land, and more food. Population losses brought economic changes based on increase social mobility and improved the situation for surviving peasants in Western Europe. In Eastern Europe, stringency of laws tied the remaining peasant population tightly to the land because it was hardly affected by the Black Death. Peasant revolts were less common in the east and the plague may be partly responsible for Eastern Europe’s lag in scientific and philosophical

One of the well known massive disasters that happened in the history of European is the “Black Death.” This fatal plague led to huge loss of between 17 million and 28 million lives in whole Europe. It took place from 1345 to 1353 and the death arrived by sea during the time when twelve Genoese trading ships had actually docked at the Sicilian port after travelling through the Black Sea. A horrifying surprise befell the individuals who were gathering on the docks when they realized that a great number of sailors had died, and the lucky sailors were extremely ill. In addition, they were covered by mysterious black boils which oozed pus and blood (Cohn, pg 514). This is why they named this kind of illness as the “Black Death.” Then what followed were other various symptoms such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, chills, severe aches and extraordinary pains- and then death.

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.

How many times a day do people nowadays think about death? Well many people don’t have to nowadays too much, because of the incredible advancements in the medical aspect of life. Most people can be at ease knowing most of times all they have to do is go to the doctors and the doctor will prescribe something to them to get better. It is just a matter of time till that person should get better. Though back in the 1200s until the 1700s the main thing on the majority of societies mind was death, and trying to avoid the black death in any means possible although many people did die during the Black Death, the Black Death changed society by encouraging superstition, changing views on health, and stimulating the medical field.

The Black Death completely changed the social structure of medieval Europe by causing the downfall of feudalism and manorialism, its effect on the Catholic church, and its push towards creating a society that oppressed Jews. Europeans of the Middle Ages were no strangers to horrific disease. Chronic illnesses such as typhoid, dysentery and diphtheria were common, but the most feared disease was leprosy, which may not have been the most fatal disease, but by far the most horrific. Those infected by these illnesses were completely ostracized from society -- they were forced to live alone, ring a warning bell as they approached, and dress a certain way. In a world where social class meant everything, this was the most wretched life imaginable.

There have been many catastrophes throughout history, but none of them have had an impact upon society like the infamous Black Death. One of the reasons Black Death was so serious is it can be transmitted in various ways. The catastrophe known as the Black Death has influenced modern society in many ways. Some of the ways Black Death influenced society is economically, socially, and scientifically.

The Black Death, according to Joseph P Byrne, was “a deadly epidemic that spread across Asia and Europe beginning in mid 1300’s.” It did not take long for the plague to make a big impact on the world. “By the spring of 1348, the Black Death, also known as Black Plague, spread to france, The Alberium Peninsula, and England, following trade routes and hitting big cities first before spreading to the countryside,” states Gail Cengage. In the 19th century, Europe was devastatingly hit with this epidemic that affected them greatly then and now. The Black Death in Europe affected 19th centuries economics, population, and literature. Its effect on Europe is an interesting topic that shaped history and our lives today. This topic is widely covered as Molly Edmonds writes her findings from other sources. These sources will be used to describe the effect the Black Death had on Europe.