The Black Death : A Silent, Catastrophic Killer

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,

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.

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.

Have you ever thought about how our ancestors survived through all of the diseases from hundreds of years ago? Well hundreds of years ago in the Medieval ages, our ancestors from Europe had to survive a deadly plague called the Black Death. have you ever thought how our ancestors were affected by that disease? Our ancestors had to live through the Black Death and were affected by the Black Death emotionally, physically, and economically.

The black death arrived in Europe in October of 1347. It was brought by twelve Genoese trading ships that docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a lengthy expedition through the Black Sea. The people that were gathered on the docks to meet the twelve ships were greeted with a terrifying surprise: the majority of the sailors that were on they ship were dead, and the ones that were still alive were somberly ill. They had fevers, were unable to hold down food, and were delirious from pain. They were covered with big black boils that oozed pus and blood. The illness was named the “Black Death” because of the black boils.

Most major European centers felt the impact of the Black Death. It reached Sicily in 1346, Italy in early 1347, and towards the end of 1347 was in Marseilles , France . In 1348 it attacked Spain and spread throughout Germany and France . It arrived in London early in the same year and by 1349 was in Oxford and spread throughout England where it was present until 1359. Scotland was affected rather later. 2

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.

Hershey, Robert D Jr. "Douglass C. North, Maverick Economist, Author and Nobel Laureate, Dies at 95. " New York Times. 25 Nov. 2015: B9. eLibrary.

The Black Death was one of the major turning points that led to chaos and transformation in the Western world. “Black Death” was a disease that came from overseas in 1347. When it arrives, the disease attacked an already weakened population. This population had been dealing with famines for years, which left them weak and susceptible to disease. Sailors on trading ships came and docked at the port of Messina. Many civilians were there to greet them, however when the sailors came off the ship, the citizens received a horrifying and shocking surprise. This surprise was the fact that many of the sailors were either dead or gravely ill, having a fever or being unable to eat anything. The strangest symptom/sign was black boils on their bodies that were oozing pus and blood. This disease was devastating for many reasons, one of which was simply because it was contagious and the origin was unknown. It spread like wildfire and caused death within one to three days of contracting. The “Black Death” followed the

The first time the plague came out openly in the world it carried and killed across England in 1348-49. It first travelled across the South part in the Bubonic way, during the summer in 1348.Unfortunately, it turned into the pneumonic plague. Then it hit the very popular London in September 1348 and spread into East England towards the coasts in the new year.By the time of Spring in 1349 it had invaded Wales and by the summer it had jumped over the Irish sea and started to trouble the northern

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.

Greece, Egypt, Persia, Rome, North Africa, Arabia, Asia and Europe all experienced the agony of the Black Death. Around the sixth century the plague went into hiding not showing its ugly face again until 1347 taking over more than one third of Europe's population within a four year period. The fourteenth century was already suffering heavily from natural disasters ranging from earthquakes to crop failures when the plague returned. At

However the bacteria didn’t allow for flea to swallow the blood, so when it bit a human or any other mammal, it would vomit the bacteria back up onto the human (Coroners Report: Plague). So when the rats started to die from the disease, the fleas couldn't find as many rats, so they would bite other warm-blooded things like humans ("The Black Death"). The Black Death rapidly spread through Europe and Asia once it was in contact with man. European sailors travelled to Asia, and when they returned, they brought the rats and fleas that were infected by accident in their cargo ("Social Classes, Life and Plague"). Also, the sailors would get infected themselves, so then spread it to others through ports ("Social Classes, Life and Plague"). And merchant caravans and traders spread plague through ports and markets some of the plague even made it into India and Arabia ("The Black Death"). Once the plague reached Europe, there was no stopping it from spreading. The Black Death hit Italy in 1347, France and lower European countries in 1340, and England and Scandinavia got hit in 1349

Pasturella pestis, also called Black Death or plague was remained undiscovered for 500 years. This lethal decease began in the mid of 13 century and rapidly surpassed borders of Sicily, where it was brought with the sick sailors on the traded ship from the Black Sea. The plague extensively passed through the Central Asia, reached to the most of European countries, and literally extended from India to Iceland. Ruthlessly eroded half of the population it became a real menace for that time. People of that time were able to concede that the infection came from the close physical contact with the sick and their clothes, houses and infected the bloodstream and another infected the lungs , and in this case the decease was spread by air and

There have been many dangerous diseases in history some of them even continuing to today. For example, ebola, AIDS, and scarlet fever. These diseases have affected millions of people all over the world. It is truly heartbreaking. In this essay, I will talk about one of these diseases—the Black Death—and its history and how it impacted Europe and how the bacteria could be weaponized for terrorism.