Political And Social Conditions In Europe During The 14th Century Essay

In the wake of the fourteenth century, Europe and the world experienced one of its biggest pandemics. Over the preceding centuries, Europe had undergone significant agricultural, economic and religious developments. However, the 400 years between 1000 and 1400 saw a rapid increment in population and the onset of war as people scrambled for scarce resources from 75 to close to 210 million. Also, it was accompanied by religious scandals. It led to widespread unsustainability, causing pollution, plague-like diseases and turmoil in the affected regions. The image below shows the areas that were affected.

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.

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.

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

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.

Cantor details how the plague changed social structure. The plague killed so many peasants that the remaining peasants were demanding lower rents and higher wages. There was a peasant revolt in 1381 which almost eliminated the royal government. Richard II had some of the peasant leaders killed, and the revolt was shut down. The result was a further divide between the classes. Wealthier peasants were able to take advantage of the "social dislocation caused by the plague, and poorer peasants sank further into dependence and misery" (p. 90-91). Peasants had formerly identified their place in society by who their lord was. Now that their world of feudalism was vanishing, they felt displaced, confused and anxious (p. 100). "Violence, drunkenness, and physical accidents were prevalent" (p. 95).

Throughout time every society has had to address enduring themes with different results. One of these enduring themes is cultural diffusion and trade. This is particularly apparent during the 1500s When Europeans arrived in the new world. It is also apparent when slaves were brought to the New World during the Atlantic Slave Trade. Although cultural diffusion was negative in that it caused the death of many Native Americans overall cultural diffusion was positive in that it increased communication between the New World and the Old World and it brought new crops and raw materials to the Old World.

Amongst the devastation and despair the Black Death left in its wake, it also brought with it some much-needed change to the way medieval Europeans were living. Although it ended many innocent lives, it also began a new era of social and economic living. In the years following the first outbreak of the plague, medical knowledge and awareness of hygiene dramatically improved, as did the living and working conditions of the workers. Other benefits included the rapid growth of Europe’s middle class and thus the fall of the feudal system, the loss of the church’s supreme authority, and the increase in economic power for medieval women.

Analyze the influence of the Black Plague on the economic activity in Europe from 1350-1400.

During the middle of the 14th century the Black Plague struck Europe. The Black Plague affected Europe religiously, economically, and socially.

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in history. Many Western Europeans were living with this disease for nearly four hundred years. The disease was able to spread rapidly and affected Europe in many ways. Since this disease was rapidly spreading throughout Europe it scared many of the people during this time. Many historians considered the Black Death in the fourteenth century a turning point in Western European history. According to Streissguth, “Before the epidemic of bubonic and pneumonic plague died out three years later, it would kill more than one-third of the continent’s population.” Hundreds of thousand people died from this horrific disease which changed Europe forever. Near the end of the fourteenth century it was obvious to the people living during that time that the plague had become a regular and destructive aspect of life. The plague had left many rural areas untouched after the late 1300’s but the epidemic began almost every decade. When the Black Death began to spread across Europe it caused unimaginable fear, panic, and chaos for the people. The Black Death was an important turning point in Europe, where the economics, politics, and society would never be the same. The Black Death spread rapidly across Europe causing many people to become ill and die which resulted in social, economic, and religious upheavals.

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were a particularly dreadful time in Europe. The fourteenth century was so bad it is regularly referred to as the calamitous century. During this timeframe the Hundred Years War between France and England occurred. Additionally, there were major upheavals in the power and structure of the Catholic Church. Finally, the Black Death wiped out an estimated one-third of the population of Western Europe. This Black Death or Bubonic Plague was the primary cause of the massive economic and social changes in Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The sheer number of deaths attributed to the plague led to a series of other unfortunate events such as famine and war that compounded the problems and led to the calamity. The Black Death was so well known that it shaped basically all vestiges of art and literature from this timeframe.

After Edward III died in 1377, England experience domestic issues during the reign of Richard II

In order to understand the significance the Black Death played in bringing about the decline in population in the second half of the fourteenth century, a number of issues need to be considered. To begin with, the Black Death’s significance should be looked at, including its victims, the rural and urban population, and recovery in the 1350s. Also, we have to look at the impact of later plagues, and the age and gender specificity of them. However, we should also look at other factors that affect the population, such as fertility and change in marriage trends. Given the particular question we should also look at the pre plague population to get a better understanding of the population in general. It is only by studying these issues that we can

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.