The Black Death And The Bubonic Plague

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.

During the late 1340’s a plague fostered in Europe and began to take effect onto the feudal system in place. This plague was known as the Black

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.

All throughout history nations all over the world have dealt with deadly diseases, but one in particular brought out the fear in the nations of Europe, the bubonic plague or as others call it, the black death. During the thirteenth century, medicine was not as developed as it is now, causing England to suffer more than others. According to Cantor (2002) the European nations encountered the bubonic plague in its most brutal state during 1348 to 1349, taking out about a third of Europe’s population (pp. 6-7). He continues on by claiming that one big question to this event was whether or not the plague was the full cause to the loss of lives or if there was another cause along with it (p. 11). Cantor (2002) also explained that the reason the black plague stopped in Europe around the eighteenth century could possibly have been from an introduction to a new species of rats, the gray rat (p. 13). Even though there is controversy based around the plague being spread by rats and how it was stopped by isolation, it may have taught countries useful strategies and ways to grow stronger.

Beginning in the mid-fourteenth century, a plague swept the world like no other. It struck in a series of waves that continued into the eighteenth century. The first wave was estimated to have killed twenty-five million people, about a third of the Western Europe population at that time. Throughout the different outbreaks, the plague, also known as the Bubonic Plague or the Black Death, caused people to react in several ways. Some people believed the plague was a medical problem that can be treated, some found themselves concerned only with their own greed, still others believed there was nothing they could do and reacted in fear, and most people believed it was a form of divine

Diseases have always been a threat to humans, all throughout history. One of the most destructive disease outbreaks in history was the plague outbreak which peaked in 1346 to 1353, in Europe, commonly known as the Black Death. This plague outbreak was extremely deadly and killed 30-60% of the European population at the time of the outbreak. The outbreak is commonly believed to have been caused by the bubonic plague, but modern evidence suggests that the Black Death was caused by pneumonic plague, a much more contagious and deadly infection.

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.

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.

The Black Death was the result of bubonic plague in the 14th century, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and carried by fleas. It was named the ‘Black Death’ as people who were infected had black welts and many died. Even if they were alive, they were gravely ill.

The Black Death, which was not recognized as the Bubonic Plague until the mid-1300s, is a disease that killed a large majority of Europe’s population. “Plague that first struck Europe in 1347 and killed perhaps one-third of the population”

The Black Death by Robert S. Gottfried, tells the story of the deadly plague and the following second plague pandemic that swept across Europe in the mid fourteenth century killing about half of the population. The book explains how the many factors lead to the plague becoming very enormous throughout Europe such as the environment and the great empire of the Mongols. The history of medieval Europe from the book gives the reader a dramatic glimpse of the awful conditions that were present in the time of the diseases.

In the mid 1300’s there was an epidemic that spread across Europe. Before this disease had ran its course the death toll in Europe was seventy-five to two hundred million people. Many things affected the rise of this horrendous disease. With poor nutrition and bad hygiene along with overcrowding no one was safe. The economy changed in this time frame as the rural workers were willing to work, but for a far greater pay than normal. The church was predominant in those days, but after all this the people that did survive had changed their views on the church. Many years later this pandemic is still widely known as one of the worst diseases to ever hit humankind and it is known as “The Plague” or “The Black Death”

The Black Death of 1348 ravaged the main lands of Asia through North Africa and ultimately made land fall in London in the autumn of 1348. “The Black Death” is well studied and a highly scrutinized controversial topic researched by respected pundits on what really assisted with the spreading of the plague in London. The Black Death is broadly believed that it originated from an epidemic of the bubonic plague generated by the bacteria carried by the fleas that were host on the black rats. These rodents circulated the plague from China to Europe and ultimately hit Great Britain by 1348. Some scholars would argue that with the spreading of the plague spreading at such an alarming rate could there have been other factors, and elements that could be considered? As terror grasped Great Britain, the multitude of decrees multiplied among the elite citizens who understood they could be the next victim of the bubonic plague. The term Bubonic plague is often referred as an ailment of the black rats. As these infected rats were dying at an alarming rate the infected fleas on these black rats would have to find a new innkeeper as it would inevitably be humans. When the spreading of the plague from person to person occurs, this is referred to as pneumonic plague, but to allow this to happen there must be a transition from the bubonic plague. Once humans were bit sixty to eighty percent of the people died within a week with side effects ranging from headaches, fever, vomiting, painful

The Black Death was a disease that plagued Europe during the years 1348 to 1350. This disease was one of the most deadly in Europe and killed more than half of Europe’s population. This pandemic became widespread through human, flea, and rodent contact, and it killed many in a span of a couple of days. The Black Death was not well understood during the 1300’s. Because of Lack of knowledge of the disease, there was debate among observers about the origin and cause of the disease, and also how to cure it.