Like Black Smoke Summary

The triggered movement of the black death spread from Asia to Europe and then the Middle East not only affecting the peasants and other lower class people but the middle and higher class, soon later destroying parts of the feudal system and leading into future generations of advanced inventions, science, and medical practices.

The Black Death was the worst epidemic in the history of the world to date. The plague killed off more than a third of the total European population during the mid-1300’s. Several people believed that the plague was punishment from God for the sins of man, while others believed it was brought about by natural causes, and there were yet others who did not care where or why the plague came but only how they could better their own lives.

However, the demise of approximately 76 million people from 1346 to 1353 culminated in the most severe disaster to ever hit Europe. It was referred to as the Black Death. This essay critically analyses the significance of the Black Death pandemic.

The Black Death discusses the causes and results of the plague that devastated medieval Europe. It focuses on the many effects it had on the culture of medieval Europe and the possibility that it expedited cultural change. I found that Robert S. Gottfried had two main theses in the book. He argued that rodent and insect life cycles, as well as the changing of weather systems affect plague. He claimed that the devastation plague causes is partly due to its perpetual recurrences. Plague ravaged Europe in cycles, devastated the people when they were recuperating. As can be later discovered in the book, the cycles of plague consumed the European population. A second thesis, which he described in greater detail,

In summary, “ The Black Death” had a huge effect on populations, workers, weather and people most of all. The health conditions have improved and the plague can now be prevented from happening again. The disease can now be cured and treated with antboitics and some days to rest. The plague is a disease that people don’t ever want to come back and sweep so many people

The Black Plague (also known as the Black Death or Bubonic Plague) of the 1300s is considered by many historians to be one of the most influential events in the history of Europe. Originating in Asia, the Black Plague has three forms; Bubonic which affects the lymph nodes, pneumonic which affects the lungs, and septicemia which affects the blood. Through examining the effects of the Plague on Europe and its people, it is clear that politics, social life, and economics were all irreparably thrown off balance. Perhaps the part of Europe disturbed most by the Black Death was politics.

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.

Pursell The Black Death Reassessed What really happened to Europe during Black Death? For years, the accepted version of the event has been that a plague from the East, carried by rodents who were infected by fleas, traveled by trade routes and subsequently infected Europeans. The name of this plague is infamously known as the Bubonic Plague; it’s said to have claimed the lives of a third of the continent’s population. Not everyone accepts the prominent version of this event though. In this essay, we will read of two scholars who dispute the official narrative of the Bubonic plague; one scholar will apply this revisionism solely to England, whereas the other will look at Europe as a whole. Moreover, death toll estimates will be scrutinized too. In addition, we will read of a third scholar who offers insight into the aftermath of the Black Death in England in terms of its social and economic development. Clearly, something devastating struck Europe in the 14th century. Whatever it was might not ever be exactly known. However, for the sake of understanding its true impact upon European society, it’s worth reassessing this long-held account. In his writing, The Black Death:

The black death affected Europe because it killed over a third of its population. In all, the black death killed twenty million people in Europe. People fled their homes, families, and friends because they did not want to get infected with the plague. The Plague reduced the population of the world from 450 million to 375 million. Seven thousand people died per day in Cairo. Three Fourths of Florence’s residents were buried in makeshift graveyards. The disease even spread to the isolated outposts Greenland and Iceland. However, the Black Death set the scene for modern medicine. Growing increasingly frustrated about diagnoses with the Black Plague, educators began to place a greater emphasis on medicine.

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.

My topic is about the black plague. I choose this topic because I thought that it would be interesting to learn about the most catastrophic disease to happen in Europe. The exchange of the black throughout Europe was the greatest catastrophe ever because it killed 50 million people, more than any other bug or virus, there were smaller breakouts, and family’s abandoned each other.

The Black Plague or the black death, was a disease that killed about 25 million people in Western Europe in the 1300’s. The victim would first get bitten by fleas and then after 24 to 48 hours he would start to become sick. Then, the victim would start to get swelling everywhere on the body and he would get fever and chills. Only few survived this disease in Western Europe, making it one of the deadliest diseases to strike during that time. The picture that was drawn is about how the disease was spread.

The loss of people meant the survivors had to go back and rebuild the society to what it once had been. It took almost two hundred years for the population to come close to what it was before the plague hit (Document 9). The population decline was not only caused by the plague but also by the panic. The tables in documents 8 and 9 are shown to give something most people can understand. By giving statistics and numbers the horrendous time that included the bubonic plague can be better understood.

The mortality rate of the Black Death was horrendous. It is estimated in various parts of Europe at two-thirds to three-quarters of the population. In England it was even higher during the first wave. Some countries were less seriously affected. Shrewsbury, the author of ‘History of Bubonic Plague in

Diana Childress had subheadings such as "Eastern Beginnings," "On the Move," "From Asia to the Mediterranean," "Following the Trade Routes," and "The Journey Ends.(Simple)" These subheadings explain the main idea, which is how the Black Death spread. In contrast, Mary Morton Cowan doesn't have any subheadings in her article. However, the main idea is still shown in the article. For example, in line 2-4, it says, "The bubonic plague, which in just four years killed up to one-third of the people in Europe, almost literally turned Europe's social structure upside down." This shows the main idea by talking about how the black death changed Europe. The article "Like Black Smoke" is organized in a chronological order. The subheadings in the article help the reader to understand that it is in fact in chronological order by using words like "beginnings," "from," and "ends," all of which are used to put things in a chronological order. Conversely, In "A World Turned Upside Down" it is cause and effect because it talks about how all of the deaths in Europe affected the social structure of Europe. In line 30, Mrs. Cowan wrote "Because workers were scarce, peasants who survived the plague now had bargaining power for the first time," which shows the effect of the plague on society