The Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Black Death

Black death was a bubonic plague, which took the lives of millions of people in the mid 1300s. This plague was caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, which lived in fleas. Therefore, transmitting the bacteria to its rodent hosts every time they would feed. The bacteria then killed the rodents leaving the fleas without hosts to feed on and in result they would feed on the humans. (Bailey 7-12) Most people who were infected would last two to three days before they died, no longer than two to three weeks. The plague moved rapidly, medical researchers believe it could have moved as fast as eight to twelve miles a day. The plague was first encountered in China and it spread through Asia and into Europe in a

The Black Death affected the European economy in a positive way. The biggest change, good for peasants, was the end of Feudalism. Feudalism is a social triangle that decided who obeyed who and many other unfair standards for all Serfs, the base of the pyramid. Due to the huge population deficit, Serfs were scarce and “Barons were now willing to pay higher wages and offer extra benefits. All their life they had lived off the serfs’ hard work, and were willing to pay them to stay on the manor to continue slaving for them” (Vunguyen). This gave the Serfs more power to ask for higher wages and the freedom to find more work if they do not get what they want. Serfs, or peasants, “began

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

The Black Death caused a better economy. Laborers caught the plague and lost their job because they weren’t able to work, or they died because of the plague. It says on Source Text One, that “As a result, wages and prices rose, but the overwhelming shortage of laborers meant that wages continued to rise.”

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 plague had a lot of effects on society. One example is the Nobles, before the plague they were the rulers and they were rich. After the plague they had less power because there was less Nobles. Another example was the Peasants, before the plague they were poor and worked for the Nobles. After the plague they had gained a little bit of power because there weren’t as many Nobles. It also affected the population by 25 million people. The cities were crowded before the plague and after there weren’t many people some cities were even abandon. The food was even a problem before the plague because there wasn’t enough so the prices were high and the only people that could afford it was the Nobles. After words the prices went down because there was plenty of food but not enough people.

One of the many Economic benefits the Black Plague brought, was a new power for peasants. This meant they were granted higher pay, better working conditions and sometimes more land out in the fields. Prior to the initial outbreak of the Black Death, the people of Europe followed a social hierarchy system called the ‘feudal system’. Under its reign, there were only two main social categories; the rich, wealthy nobles and the poor, powerless peasants. Most of these peasants earned very little, if any pay, for their hard work. Following the Black Death, there were two ways these peasants could become prosperous, either by gaining more vacant land, or demanding higher wages. The Black Death is thought to have wiped out around one-third of Europe’s population of the time, and therefore many blocks of land were left unattended. It didn’t take long

After the Black Death, many farmers were killed off leaving the few left as a large pillar of the economy who thrived due to the supply and demand of their crops (Notes). Also the few peasants and people who were homeless before the plague were able to come back to their city, welcomed with many vacant houses that still had valuables and goods from the previous owner (Doc 1). Because of the better economy the manorial system was left behind as many of the serfs and laborers either demanded better pay or left for the many open jobs in towns

Through history there have been devastating events during time periods, which eventually lead to positive outcomes, after all the sorrow comes the miracle everyone hoped for. As they say “there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.” As a matter of fact that is what happened during The Fourteenth century, it was one of the most devastating centuries, filled with horrible events, the outcome of those events led to the reshaping of Europe and Asia through trends and events. In Europe, during the Fourteenth Century, the population was soaring and there was surplus in the food supply.

Their labor was the pay for the lord providing land and protection. The Black Death weakened manorialism by decreasing the power of nobles economically and causing for a shortage of workers. Before the Black Death, manors

Most importantly, the black plague killed a significant amount of labors. According to King Edward III, "The black Death that struck Florence between 1347 and 1350 came to England, causing a loss of lives so severe that there was an almost immediate shortage of laborers” (Statue of Laborers 1). Labors played a huge role in European society and the shortage of laborers is irresistible. Much land could no longer be cultivated which resulted in a deduction of supply and their prices are much

The revival of commerce and the widespread use of money changed the relations between feudal lord and serf. Some lords began to rent out their lands to tenant farmers. Using those lands, serfs engaged themselves into trade, which allowed them to substitute a money payment for their feudal obligations and become tenant farmers. In the 14th century, the labor shortage caused by the Black Death led to a rise of bargaining power of serfs; many serfs’ wages raised and became able to purchase their freedom while feudal lords lost their power by the end of the Medieval Europe. At third, as stability and security in Europe gradually came back, the existence of a feudal knight’s military service became unnecessary. What monarchs were more willing to do is assemble large mercenary armies at relatively low cost. Based on all of the factors above, feudalism was replaced by a system of government that brought the birth of modern capitalism.

The Black Death was also a way for people to start a new life, and it was also a way for Europe to start from square one. There was a huge effect on education. Many people realised that as much as they believed in God and their religion, the church was not God and that they were just taking the power. Because of this, people tried to research more about the reasons why the plague spread. Therefore, medicals schools were opened and there were many more doctors than before. Technology and machines improved and developed because of the lack of workers on the fields. The idea of feudalism was also faltering as many of the lords had died from the plague. Peasants were more free and they were also let loose from the bounds tying them to the lands. Instead, people started going towards of humanism and ideas of working for the benefits of oneself. There is evidence that can back this up. In Russia, the plague did not have as much as an effect and the feudal system continued until the 19th century.

During the 14th century, natural disasters struck Europe leaving citizens sick and in poverty. In addition, The Black Death, a bacillus carried by fleas on black rats struck and spread into Russia, Sicily, and other parts of Europe killing around 20 million people. The Black Death, however, brought new opportunities since a smaller population led to lesser need for cultivating lands. As a result, changes in agriculture began to evolve contributing to a better standard of living. The power and wealth of landlords, whose dominance was based on land were threatened