The Causes And Effects 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 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.

“The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350” presents an entirely different kind of trial than the one provided by Einhard and Notker. Where Charlemagne’s struggle was often glorious combat with his fellow man, the battle against the plague had none of the nobility and prestige of conquest, and while Charles strove for power, humanity during the plague fought only for survival. The world was well familiarized with violent ambitions of powerful men, but a disease that ended roughly half of the lives in Europe (Aberth, 269) was a trial in unfamiliar terrain. A chronicler, Agnolo di Tura recounted that “So many have died that everyone believes it is the end of the World” (Aberth, 278). The now clichéd phrase of the “enemy of my enemy

As was we all know that The Black Death is one of the tragic events in world history and it has effected many civilizations in early 1300s. This has made many devastating trends within Europe’s borders and raged with many diseases, and other infections. Not only this pandemic event has effected many people, but it has transform Europe’ political, religious, and cultural practices. The Black Death became an outbreak and painful change to western civilization in which it marked history

The Black Death was one of the most devastating worldwide diseases in human history. The plague originated in central Asia and was brought to China by traders and Mongols from 1334-1347. Mongol protection of the trade may have caused the disease to spread along the “Silk Road” to Crimea. During a Mongol siege against Caffa in 1347, the Mongolian army began to die. The Mongols catapulted the dead bodies into the city where the fleas on the corpses were released into Caffa. In the year 1347, October, Genoese traders escaped from the city and sailed to Messina, an Italian port, unaware that they were infected by the disease. Eventually, everyone on the ship died and a “ghost ship” made it to port. Seeing no activity on board, the ship was

The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic plague, was a serious pandemic that killed more than one-third of Europe’s population. Between 1347-1352, the Black Death had “reportedly killed more than 20 million people.” The plague originated from Asia before traveling throughout Europe and the Mediterranean by fleas infested rats transported through ships. The infested ships had then landed in European ports such as the following: “Genoa, Venice, Messina, and other more.” Thus, the starting the pandemic by the spreading of the highly contagious bacterial infection disease around Europe along with their imports and exports.

Amongst the devastation and despair the Black Death left in its wake, it also brought with it some much-needed change to the way medieval Europeans were living. Although it ended many innocent lives, it also began a new era of social and economic living. In the years following the first outbreak of the plague, medical knowledge and awareness of hygiene dramatically improved, as did the living and working conditions of the workers. Other benefits included the rapid growth of Europe’s middle class and thus the fall of the feudal system, the loss of the church’s supreme authority, and the increase in economic power for medieval women.

The Black death was able to drastically change many countries and regions. The black death was able to topple political regimes and religious regimes that had been in power for many years. The populations of countries shrunk due to the Black Death. The epidemic left a third of Europe’s population dead. In China the population went from 120 million to 80 million over the course of a century because of the death. Farmers were affected which led to famine because of the inability to produce food. Without food it led to rising prices, work stoppages and unrest. Because of the issues that the Black Death was causing countries needed to be able to make drastic changes in order to revive their nations. In China, the families that were ruling started to claim that their power was coming from the divine calling. Many other countries tried similar things to attempt to regain confidence in their country. In Europe, the struggles that the death was causing gave rise to new models and new forms of governance that attempted to turn around the country. Some of the changes that were caused because of the death were able to help the countries. The Black Death was able to bring radical political change to many countries while forcing governments to asses all of their policies and make sure that they are the right ones for their country. Therefore, the Black Death could be seen as having a mixed legacy as it did kill an unbelievable amount of people but it also forced countries to reexamine

The causes of the Black Death – the flea, the rat, and the bacillus Yersinia pestis– have been labeled the “unholy trinity” (Boeckl). The flea is able to live in environmental conditions of about 74° Fahrenheit and 60% humidity (Ibid). Before the Black Death reached Europe, they were experiencing those same types of weather conditions. The rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis and the human flea, Pulex irritans, are both capable of transmitting plague (Boeckl). Sometimes, an infected flea cannot ingest blood because Yersinia pestis obstructs its digestive tract. The blockage causes a flea to regurgitate into a bitten host rather than ingest the host’s blood, thereby infecting the host with plague (Boeckl). Unable to eat, the famished flea will bite with more frequency, accelerating the spread of plague. A flea can be carrying Yersinia pestis without it blocking the flea’s digestive tract, in which case the flea does not transmit plague when it bites a host. Also, Yersinia pestis can only enter a victim through a bite, as the bacilli cannot pass through intact skin (Gottfried).

The disastrous plague called the Black Death had monumental, long lasting effects that would ultimately change the fate of the entire continent of Europe. The mid-1300s in Europe were part of the Dark Ages. Human populations were near over-crowding, and the land was stretched to produce food. Mother Nature created a drastic solution. The world lifted a bleak shadow of death and chaos over the people of Europe in the form of plague. It originated from fleas, but rats carried the fleas with this plague across seaward trading routes from Asia. Humans were oblivious to the deadly fleas disguised in the familiar sight of the rats aboard their trading ships. The plague was an airborne disease, and it was transmittable to humans. Once one was infected, no escape option was available. The plague was characterized by black cysts on the skin, which influenced humans to later dub the plague “The Black Death”. Europe was previously suffering during the Dark Ages, but what were the Black Death’s effects on Europe? The staggering effects of the Black Death were outlined clearly in the fragility of religion, the floundering population and education, and oddly enough, a recovered and thriving economy.

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 Black Death occurred in many different geographical areas, had serious political effects, and was caused by scientific findings. The Black Death was the greatest catastrophe ever in world history, known as the Bubonic Plague, resulting in the death of an estimated one-hundred-million people. This Plague occurred within Central Asia (China), Europe, and Empires in these areas.  It also had serious political effects amongst the Roman Church, causing a non-stable government, and ending feudalism. The scientific findings of the Bubonic Plague include what bacteria it was, how it was contracted, and certain symptoms.

The Black Death, according to Joseph P Byrne, was “a deadly epidemic that spread across Asia and Europe beginning in mid 1300’s.” It did not take long for the plague to make a big impact on the world. “By the spring of 1348, the Black Death, also known as Black Plague, spread to france, The Alberium Peninsula, and England, following trade routes and hitting big cities first before spreading to the countryside,” states Gail Cengage. In the 19th century, Europe was devastatingly hit with this epidemic that affected them greatly then and now. The Black Death in Europe affected 19th centuries economics, population, and literature. Its effect on Europe is an interesting topic that shaped history and our lives today. This topic is widely covered as Molly Edmonds writes her findings from other sources. These sources will be used to describe the effect the Black Death had on Europe.

The black death has broken out three times in the world that has ever been recorded. It only stays into certain area, from cities to full regions. If it wasn’t stopped then it would spread throughout the globe. It’s usually not noticeable, but once it starts it’s hard to stop once it goes. Back when it first started there was no way to stop it or help it, so it ended up killing millions of people. No One knew how to explain what the disease was and what it was doing to the people. Nearly half of the population in the world had died because of it. They finally identified it whenever it hit hong kong, they had found the bacterium that has been causing it