The mid-fourteenth century witnessed one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of mankind - the Black Death. This paper will describe the Black Death that killed one third of the European population. This great plague caused the economic crisis, social and political upheavals, and also peasant revolts. It took next two hundred years to the European population to return to the level before the Black Death. Into the thirteenth century Europe had experienced a very good time in the history. Good harvests and expanding of the population. Everything changed by the end of the century. “Symptoms of bubonic plague, known as Black Death included high fever, aching joints, swelling of the lymph, and dark blotches caused be bleeding …show more content…
It had reached England by the end of the year. In 1349 the plague had reached the Scandinavia. Easter Europe and Russia were affected by 1351. “It has been estimated that European population declined by 25 to 50 percent between 1347 and 1351, this means 19 to 38 million people died in four years“. Reactions to the Black Death were extreme at times. “Because fourteenth century healers were at a loss to explain the cause, Europeans turned to astrological forces, earthquakes, and the poisoning of wells by Jews as possible reasons for the plague's emergence.” The worst organized pogroms against Jews were in Germany. More than 60 Jewish communities had been exterminated by 1351. Many Jew escaped to Russia and especially to Poland, where the Polish king offered them …show more content…
Both peasants and noble landlords were affected. Many people had died and that caused serious labor shortages all over Europe. This led workers to demand higher wages, but landlords rejected those claims. “For example, a farm laborer who had received 2 shillings a week in 1347 was paid 7 in 1349and almost 11 by 1350“. Also the decline in population depressed the need for agricultural produce. By the end of the 1300s peasant revolts broke out in England, France, Belgium and Italy. In 1358, Jacquerie – a peasant revolt broke out in France. The Black Death and economic dislocation was very important causes of the revolt, but also the Hundred Years War that affected French peasantry. Class tensions were also important factors that brought peasant anger. The French aristocrat said, “Should peasants eat meat? Rather should they chew grass on the health with the horned cattle and go naked on all fours”. Castles were burned and nobles were murdered. The most noticeable peasants’ revolt had place in England in 1381. After the Black Death, the peasants’ situation in England had improved. They had more freedom, higher wages or lower rents. Due to that the aristocratic landlords wanted to bring back old feudal dues. However, the immediate reason of the revolt, was the attempt to raise the revenues by imposing a poll tax. Peasants in England refused to pay the tax and they expelled the collectors from their villages. The revolt was
Another piece of evidence to go along with it states,” Due to the shortage of workers all labor became very valuable and in-demand (Document 7).” The effects that the bubonic plague had on 14th Century Europe were that faith in religion had fallen, the demand for labor was high, and the economy had taken a toll. The Black Death devastated Medieval Europe, causing many uncontrollable effects, both good and bad. However, despite these effects, the European people were able to overcome this period of desolation, and move on with life.
The Black Death struck Europe in a time of great despair. "Although a `Great Famine' struck northern Europe between 1315 and 1322, nothing prepared Europeans for the horrendous onslaught of the Black Death" (Aberth, 2). The famine had caused a massive hunger shortage from which Europe had yet to recove...
The years 1348 through 1350 had been an extremely gruesome and miserable time in our world’s history. During this time period, one of the most devastating pandemics in history had struck half the world with an intensifying and deadly blow. It had been responsible for over 75 million deaths and 20 million of these deaths were from Europe alone. Out of the countries that were hit hardest in Europe from mortality rates and economic downturns, England was one of them. This grave disease that marked the end of the middle ages and the start of the modern age is known as the Black Plague.
In the midst of the chaos it created, the Black Death weakened the archaic system of manorialism by causing an increase in the incomes of peasants. Manorialism was an economic system where a large class of serfs worked in the fields of the nobles in exchange for a small share of the crops. Due to the outbreak of the plague, however, there were not enough serfs for this approach to remain viable. The death of many serfs due to the Black Death meant that the ones who remained were able to ask for larger shares of the crops since their services were rare and thus more valuable. Further adding to the increase, many peasants whose requests were denied would often s...
In 1300, multiple out breaks of the Black Plague arised. For example, in the thirteenth century an outbreak in China killed one third of the population. Several dates before this time showed the disease was present years ago in Europe. Dying from the Plague was scary to most people and Jordan Mcmullin, an author stresses, “Whenever the Plague appeared the sadness of death was terrifying” (Mcmullin n.pag.). Death has always been frightening, but when a country plagues with disease, death becomes a terrible fear, the Plague scared the people of 541, and 542, when their outbreak of the Plague spread. Therefore, while other outbreaks of the Black Plague took place, the fourteenth century outbreak in Europe was certainly the worst.
The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
The destruction and devastation caused by the 'Black Death' of the Middle Ages was a phenomenon left to wonder at in text books of historical Europe. An unstoppable plague swept the continent taking as much as eighty percent of the European population along with it (Forsyth).
No other epidemic reaches the level of the Black Death which took place from 1348 to 1350. The epidemic, better regarded as a pandemic, shook Europe, Asia, and North Africa; therefore it deems as the one of the most devastating events in world history. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, John Aberth, compiles primary sources in order to examine the origins and outcomes of this deadly disease. The author, a history professor and associate academic dean at Vermont’s Castleton State College, specializes in medieval history and the Black Death. He wrote the book in order to provide multiple perspectives of the plague’s impact. Primarily, pathogens started the whole phenomenon; however, geological, economic, and social conditions
The 14th century saw the emergence of an extremely contagious and deadly disease, bubonic plague, which was also known as the “Black Death”. This savage disease affected people from all classes of the society, regardless of their wealth, religion, gender or age (as seen in the Document 6). In that day and age, there was almost no one who didn’t lose a relative, a friend, or a loved one to the illness. During this dark age, people reacted to the disease with mass fear, endless grief, and quandary.
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
"The Black Death" is known as the worst natural disaster in European history. The plague spread throughout Europe from 1346-1352. Those who survived lived in constant fear of the plague's return and it did not disappear until the 1600s. Not only were the effects devastating at the time of infection, but during the aftermath as well. "The Black Death" of the fourteenth century dramatically altered Europe's social and economic structure.
In the 1340’s, an epidemic named the Black Death, erupted through Europe, killing nearly ⅓ of its population. The Black Death originated in China, rapidly spreading to western Asia and Europe. It killed about 30 million people in Europe plummeting its population. A lot of these people were peasants. This was because they had the least money, therefore putting them in the worst living conditions. There were so many of them that no individual could make a substantial amount of money. When the plague hit, the peasants were strongly affected. A huge population of them were killed. After the epidemic, the population of peasants was far less than before. This provided them with a chance to really improve their lives. The Black Death caused a change
One of the most important results of the Black Death is the end of feudalism. The labor force was so low that workers could refuse to work, demand a wage, and the aristocrats had no choice but to listen. Peasant revolts in France and England also played an important role in the end of feudalism. The French government, in an attempt to pay ransom to England for the return of their king, spiked tax rates on the French residents. The peasants at the time felt that the government was weak, and the increased taxes infuriated them, resulting in a rebellion that came to be known as the Jacquerie. Similar events took place in England a generation later. In 1381, peasants rebelled against high tax rates and frozen wages by marching on London an...
The Black Death plagues had disastrous consequences for Europe in the 14th century. After the initial outbreak in Europe, 1347, it continued for around five years and then mysteriously disappeared. However it broke out again in the 1360s and every few decades thereafter till around 1700. The European epidemic was an outbreak of the bubonic plague, which began in Asia and spread across trade routes. When it reached Europe, a path of destruction began to emerge. Medieval society was tossed into disarray, economies were fractured, the face of culture and religion changed forever. However the plagues devastation was not all chaotic, there were benefits too, such as modern labour movements, improvements in medicine and a new outlook on life. Therefore in order to analyse the impact the Black Death had on societies in the 14th century, this essay will consider the social, economic, cultural and religious factors in order to reach an overall conclusion.
The 14th century is ranked as one of the most distressing epochs in the history of Western culture. With the transformation of the Holy Roman Empire into a greatly destabilized elective monarchy, the transfer in political power from Germany to France and the escalation of England's power comes the end of the High Middle Ages in which Europe sank into a time of despair. Many events were responsible for this decline and loss of hope. Among them, three deserve special attention: the Great Schism, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Plague.