It is no coincidence that the death of 1163 people can occur in medieval Europe in just three days. These numbers are large, even for a plague. This raises many questions considering how small the location was. The plague’s cause and its target on women is a matter of great concern. Could this be just a coincidence, or could it have been something bigger than just a plague? While no one quite knows for sure, it did have an immensely negative impact on the people of Europe. 1348-1350 Western Europe is believed to have lost a third of their population to the plague. 1630-1631 A Venetian plague left 120,000 people dead from a population of 150,000 . The timelines between these 2 epidemics could have been caused by more than just mere coincidence. The rise of the Genghis khan took some period of time and though not 200 years, may have created the opportunity for an army to conquer the place. October 1630 The Venetian city lost 2100 people of which 1200 died in 3 days . A town cannot lose 50% of its population by mere chance in just a single day. Unless the plague was contained in the proceeding days, it becomes hard to understand these deaths. …show more content…
This looks like an orchestrated attack, well planned and executed. Women are the building blocks of any society and their death is devastating to say the least. Looking at the article, it comes out clearly that the number of women were initially greater than that of men. Killing women would work to minimize armies that a community would have as they would have fewer children even able to take over from their folks. By killing pregnant mothers, the plague reduced the number of children a family would have. This reduced the population of a place significantly such that it becomes easier to be
The black plague struck Europe from 1347 to 1351. The infected bacteria traveled through ships from China and Inner Asia to Europe then spread on land. From the devastating impact on the population, to the workings of the society, the impact of the plague was felt on all levels of the social order. The Black Death’s impact on society and the modern world is deep, and although there were many different effects, some had more importance than others. The most significant effects of the Black Death was the church’s shifting place in society, the weakening of feudalism, and the decline of manorialism due to the large effects on society.
Appropriately nicknamed the “Black Death”, the plague often “began with swellings in the groin and armpit, in both men and women, some of which were as big as apples. (Doc 2)” The disease then “began to take on qualities of a deadly sickness, and the body would be covered with dark and livid spots, which would appear in great numbers. (Doc 2)” These symptoms were quickly followed by death. The lethalness of the disease is expressed in Document 4, which describes the burial of the deceased as “layers of cheese in a lasagna.” In other words, there were too many dead for each one to have his or her own grave. More concrete statistical evidence can be found in Documents 8 and 9. According to Document 8, population decline per region ranged from 20% to 37%, with over 4.5 million deaths in France, 1.2 million in England and Wales, and 16.2 million deaths throughout all of Europe combined. Document 9 also shows similar long term results as Europe’s population fell from 83 million to 60 million between 1345 and 1400. This astronomically high death rate didn’t only impact the emotional and social stability of all who remained alive, but also sent Europe into complete bankruptcy, destroying trade, agriculture, and
In the mid 14th century, a devastating plague swept across the known world. This pandemic plague is most commonly known as the Black Death but has other alias such as The Great Pestilence and The Great Plague. The background essay states, “In five shorts years, it would kill between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered.” The background essay also mentions “it would be the worst natural disaster and the single most destructive natural phenomenon in the history of the world.” This cataclysmic event drastically dwindled population sizes of Europe and the Middle East, breaking down civilizations, and leaving behind terror in survivors mindset.
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.
The Great Plague killed nearly half of the European population during the fourteenth century. A plague is a widespread illness. The Illness was also known as the “Black Death”. Most of the European people believed the plague was the beginning of the end of the world. They were scarcely equipped and unready for what was to be entailed. It was by far one of the worst epidemics yet to be seen in those times.
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 that struck Europe and Asia in the 14th century was probably the most devastating disease or natural disaster the world ever faced. The Bubonic Plague or Black Death killed an estimated 25 million people from 1347 to 1352 in Europe which accounted for one third of Europe’s population.??-1 It is believed to have started in Asia and then spread to Europe. The Bubonic Plague was not just limited to this period in time. It would reappear through the centuries including the Great Plague of London around 1656 in which 20% of London residents died from it.??-2 Although some of the latter breakouts of the plague were also catastrophic, this paper will primarily focus on the plague from the 1300s. More specifically, this paper will
The people weren’t sure how they were catching the quickly spreading disease, and the doctors of this age couldn’t find a cure. This disease is estimated to have killed thirty to sixty percent of Europe’s population. The total world population is believed to have dropped from four-hundred and fifty million down to three-hundred and fifty million, which is a hundred million people or possibly more. The plague resulted in a series of religious, social, and economic outburst, which had great effects on European history.
Pursell The Black Death Reassessed What really happened to Europe during Black Death? For years, the accepted version of the event has been that a plague from the East, carried by rodents who were infected by fleas, traveled by trade routes and subsequently infected Europeans. The name of this plague is infamously known as the Bubonic Plague; it’s said to have claimed the lives of a third of the continent’s population. Not everyone accepts the prominent version of this event though. In this essay, we will read of two scholars who dispute the official narrative of the Bubonic plague; one scholar will apply this revisionism solely to England, whereas the other will look at Europe as a whole. Moreover, death toll estimates will be scrutinized too. In addition, we will read of a third scholar who offers insight into the aftermath of the Black Death in England in terms of its social and economic development. Clearly, something devastating struck Europe in the 14th century. Whatever it was might not ever be exactly known. However, for the sake of understanding its true impact upon European society, it’s worth reassessing this long-held account. In his writing, The Black Death:
The Black Death, now considered the biggest epidemic of the 16th Century, exterminated half of the earth’s population. Europe was left devastated and in ruins following the countless deaths, pillages of barbarians, and loss of morality. Those who came down with the plague endured innumerable tribulations and those who were lucky enough to not contract the illness stayed indoors and made little contact with the outside world. This led to many becoming petulant and restless. Due to the plague, fear ran rampant throughout Europe and caused fallacious theories explaining the illness, violence, and the desensitization of many.
Just as people thought everything was well, population growing gradually, years of good harvest, this tragic plague struck. The stories told by my relatives scare me half to death, and I am quite glad I hadn’t the opportunity to experience such a disease. Its name first heard in Europe around the year of 1347, the plague stretched across our country, killing everything in its path. A friend of my grandfather’s was one of the first victims. The symptoms were even more horrific than the simple ring to the name: “high fever, aching joints, dark blotches caused by bleeding beneath the skin” the worst of it consisting of massive oozing boils latched onto the body.
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 Bubonic Plague, more commonly referred to as the "Black Death," ravaged Europe between the years 1347 and 1350 (Herzog, 2000). During this short period, according to Herzog (2000), 25 million people (which were about one third of Europe's population at the time) were killed. In another article, Herlihy (1997), however, claimed that two thirds of Europe’s population were killed. Nevertheless, it is ascertained that thousands of people died each week and dead bodies littered the streets. Once a family member had contracted the disease, the entire household was doomed to die. Parents abandoned their children, and parent-less children roamed the streets in search for food. Victims, delirious with
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.
In fall of the year 1347 a fleet of Genoese trading ships docked at Sicilian port in Italy. The crowds gathered in eager expectation at meeting the newcomers and seeing what goods they were carrying. They were utterly horrified at what they discovered. Most of the ship’s crew were dead, the rest mostly dying. In terror, the Sicilian authorities ordered the fleet out of its harbor in hopes of sparing themselves from the same fate. It was a false hope. The Plague spread with a horrifying rapidity. It raged across the European continent killing unprecedented numbers. In fact, it is generally agreed that thirty to sixty percent of Europe’s population died as a result or a staggering twenty to twenty-five million souls. Just what was it that caused this dreaded horror that mercilessly took the lives of so many? Though