The Bubonic Plague: The Black Death In Italy

The Black Plague was a bubonic disease that ravaged the streets of Europe during the 1300’s. The disease was caused by yersinia pestis from fleas on rats. The disease would cause its victims to acquire a black tongue, open skin sores, develop acral necrosis, and die in the matter of days. This plague originally started in China but spread to Europe through biological warfare. The Mongols launched infected bodies at their enemies and sent them fleeing back to Europe.

It was devastating for the people who caught the plague, but the people that survived, it was worse. They lived in fear of catching the plague. They had to live with their loved ones dying everyday and with bodies piled up on the streets. Due to the terrifying lethality of the plague, people tried to survive in any way they could. Most people would lock themselves up, and isolate themselves for others. "

The Bubonic Plague or the Black Death has been in the history books since the medieval times. This deadly disease has claimed nearly 1.5 million lives in Europe (Gottfried). The Black Death hit Europe in October of 1347 and quickly spread through most of Europe by the end of 1349 and continued on to Scandinavia and Russia in the 1350s. Not only did the plague effect the European population by killing one-third to two-thirds (Gottfried), it also hurt the social and economic structures of every European society.

In early 1347, the Bubonic Plague broke out near the Black Sea. People thought that the Italians were to blame for it. When the Natives decided that the Italians were to blame, they gathered an army and started preparing to attack their trading post. The Italians fled to a fortress they built off the Black Sea and the Natives were forced to withdraw, but before they did they loaded catapults with of their dead soldiers and shot them over into the fortress. The carriers of the Bubonic Plague were black rats and the fleas that lived in their hair.

The Bubonic Plague took the lives of many individuals in the heart of Florence. Its reign affected “not just that of men and women…but even sentient animals” (Stefani). While the plague only lasted a mere six months, from March 1348 – September 1348, it is a piece of time that society should forever acknowledge and learn from. Much of the significant information from the Bubonic plague are unbeknownst to people today, even though it possesses such an importance aspect in our history. Therefore, in this essay, I will discuss the effects the plague had on the people of Florence, and how the appearance of this plague brought about short and long term historical change what we see today.

home. My rations to sustain me are few, and I am afraid that the water

The Black Death was devastating and was one of the most significant events in Medieval Britain. The Black Death was also known the plague and bubonic plague it describes the spread of disease that caused mass deaths throughout Britain. The disease itself was carried by fleas and spread across Europe between 1346-1353 leaving towns and city such as Siena Italy with 85% of the population wiped out. This was seen all over Europe including Britain and it can be argued economic factors was the most significant consequences of the Black Death. However there are many factors such as political, social factors and Mortality rates that were also results of the Black Death and perhaps social factors may be more significant.

The Black Death, also known as The Black Plague, is one of the most tragic and deadly pandemics to have occurred throughout all human history. It was introduced to Europe in 1347, when a series of trade ships docked at a Sicilian port after voyaging across the Black Sea from the city of Genoa, Italy. Over the next several years, the disease spread throughout all of Europe, killing countless men, women, and children in its path. While many at the time believed The Black Death to be a punishment from God for all their past sins, the disease was actually caused by bacteria known as Yersinia pestis. This bacterium is typically transmitted by “being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague.” When people encountered this bacterium, symptoms of illness began to show very quickly. Giovanni Boccaccio, an Italian author, lived through the plague and experienced its effects on the city of Florence, Italy firsthand. In his detailed account of the event, Boccaccio described some symptoms of the illness, saying “it began both in men and women with certain swellings in the groin or under the armpit. They grew to the size of a small apple or an egg, more or less, and were vulgarly called tumors.” These tumors, among other repulsive and painful symptoms, were a clear sign of upcoming demise to the people of Europe, and nearly all citizens who caught the illness died within days of contracting the disease. Over twenty

The people of the Renaissance had a different mindset and attitude than the medieval people because what they lived for made a drastic change after the bubonic hit. During the Middle Ages, the thought of God dominated everyones mindset, the thought of heaven excited everyone, the though of hell created a sense of fear.

The Bubonic Plague, often called the Black Death, is the name given to a deadly plague that was spreading during the Fourteenth Century. The plague spread through China, Europe, as well as western parts of Asia. It got its name from the painful swellings in lymph nodes, called buboes, which appeared on those infected with the plague. There was no cure for the disease, only treatments for the symptoms. This allowed for a rapid, massive spread of the disease. The plague reduced the world’s population from an estimated 450 million to about 350-375 million. The Bubonic Plague is most commonly known for its medical affects and the number of deaths it caused. However, it also had a huge impact, both positive and negative, on the economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of life.

The Black Death resulted in the death of over 25 million people and one third of Europe’s people from 1347 to 1352. This disease originated in China in the early 1330’s and started to spread to Western Asia and Europe through trade. The bubonic plague, aka Black Death, affects rodents mostly but fleas can transmit disease to people. Once a one person is infected, it was easily transmitted. The plague caused fever and swelling of the lymph glands. It also caused red spots on the skin, but then turned into black spots. During the winter the plague seemed to vanish, but came back and happened in waves. The aftermath of the Black Death had a major impact on, literature, religion, and the economy.

People were forced to abandon family, friends, and homes. Civilians were so frightened to leave their houses, that they would shut themselves in their homes hoping that the rats or another person would not come and infect them. Funerals began to become perfunctory because there was an abundance of bodies and again people were terrified that they might catch something. Work in general also ceased to be completed. The lack of work was the cause of the shift in the feudal system. Serfs that used to only work for one lord would now normally be doing work for multiple. As a result of the change, the social classes were distinguished even more. The people that were wealthy usually didn't have to do much work and thus did not come in contact with the amount of infected people as the average towns people did. Their main concern was the rodents and the flies that would come with

It is the year of 1340, October 25th.(2) The Black Plague has spread to through my city in Italy. It started in the city of Kaffa, coming from the dead sailors.(4) I fear for my life that my family stay away from whatever is the cause of the bubonic plague. So far, I’ve heard that the infected have giant buboes on their bodies.(1) I heard there is a second plague, dear lord, save us. I believe it may be the rats and the fleas, but not a soul listens to my words.(3) The all think that God has sent a punishment to all. I don’t believe we’ve done anything wrong. The whole village is getting infected, few survive. Everyone is getting infected. I don’t see many who don’t.(5) If your family or friends had gotten it, you can smell the death on them..

The Bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, was a severe outbreak of disease that spread in Europe in the 14th century from 1346-1353. The disease spread faster then originally expected of killing only twenty or thirty percent but killed "60 percent of Europe 's population" ( Benedictow). It is believed the population of Europe was around eighty million and that would add up to be fifty million deaths. It was a horrific death for one to experience and can still be found in the world today. The Black Death was a tragic disease that spread through Europe vigorously killing fifty million people and changed European history.

Venice is reduced to a population of 102,243 by the end of 1631 and the end of that plague epidemic and recovers to 160,000. Besides the transmissible aspect of the plague, Venice knew as well the humidity and weather also seemed to bring the plague and with supplies moving from ports in Venice to other regions constantly, it was a recipe for the plague. This epidemic does not last as long as the other great plagues but with no recorded data of the reasons, after 1631 the population reaches a constant and continues to grow from that point on. After the plagues, there was more work yet to be done. The plagues had done damage to the beautiful land of Venice and it was thought that God’s wrath may be the reason why the plagues had killed so many. They took the approach of appeasing God’s wrath, it was important to repent and pray a great deal in order for the horrors of the plague to cease. Venice held fast to their traditional beliefs and