Bubonic Plague

1095 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The black death research paper

Subject: What is the most important turning point in history? I have been set with the task to be able to say what I think is the most important turning point in history in one thousand and five hundred words. I will be discussing the Black Death which is most important in my opinion. Although the British reformations and Industrial Revolutions are also an important turning point, I have ruled it out because I do not think that it is important as these. On the one hand, The Black Death is an important turning point in history due to the terror and consequential effects it had left behind. The Black Death has been one of the most harmful pandemics in the history of humankind, killing an estimated number of around 75 to 200 million people throughout history, whilst peaking in Europe throughout 1348-50 AD. Although people have been debating about what the real cause of the Black Death is, a scientific journal called PLoS Pathogens publish a paper showing that the pathogen responsible for the Black Death in northern and southern Europe is the Yersinia pestis bacterium (Originally called Pasteurella pestis, the organism had been renamed in 1967 to Yersinia pestis), which had most likely caused many plagues. The Black Death is estimated to have been arisen in the dry plains of Central Asia, whereupon it had spread along the Silk Road, getting to Crimea in 1346. From Crimea, it was caught by Oriental rat fleas which had been living on black rats that regularly went on merchant ships. Spreading through Europe and the Mediterranean, the Black Death has been estimated to have infected and killed about 30-60% of Europe’s population. The Black Death had made the world population go down from 450 million all the way down to 350 million thro... ... middle of paper ... ...therefore leading to the plague. British Bacterologist J.F.D. Shrewsbury noted that the rate of mortality in rural areas were having anomalies with the bubonic plague from today, therefore he thought contemporary accounts were too extreme. Researchers cannot find out enough information about the Black Death due to the age of it and due to most of the work being achieved in England, another reason the Black Death is unclear is that the death rate might have been bigger or smaller since there was no census taken between the time of the Domesday Book and the year 1377. In conclusion, although there are many other turning points in history, the Black Death interests me most of all because of how sociality changed-more jobs were available, more people went to religion for help- and also the amount of shock and terror it left behind. Essay Written By Adrians Adolfi

Show More
Related

  • The Black Plague and Its Impact on Medicine in Medieval Society

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Black Death (also called the "plague" or the "pestilence", the bacteria that causes it is Yersinia Pestis) was a devastating pandemic causing the death of over one-third of Europe's population in its major wave of 1348-1349. Yersinia Pestis had two major strains: the first, the Bubonic form, was carried by fleas on rodents and caused swelling of the lymph nodes, or "buboes", and lesions under the skin, with a fifty-percent mortality rate; the second, the pneumonic form, was airborne after the bacteria had mutated and caused fluids to build up in the lungs and other areas, causing suffocation and a seventy-percent mortality rate.

    Read More

  • The Black Death and The Song Ring Around the Rosie

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Black Death fundamentally changed the way that medieval society operated. Outdated systems like manorialism collapsed and an ideological revolution occurred within the sciences. While these changes did come at a high cost, their benefits to society were immense, and they helped medieval Europe become a more modern society. Had the Black Death not occurred, many scientific advancements would have been stalled and obsolete economic systems would have been sustained. In conclusion, by destroying what had previously been accepted, the Black Death caused a reshuffling of the socioeconomic and scientific practices of medieval Europe.

    Read More

  • Bubonic Plague DBQ

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the largest epidemic events in history, the Bubonic Plague had a devastating effect on European society. It is believed to have begun in China, and it reached European soil in 1347, when it struck Constantinople (Document 1). It was carried by infected fleas that spread the disease between humans and rats. A symptom of the plague was the development of large, dark swellings called “buboes” on the victim’s lymph nodes. By the time the plague left, Europe’s population had been reduced by almost half. The devastation as a result of the plague may seem shocking, but there were several important factors that contributed to its deadliness.

    Read More

  • Yersinia Pestis - The Plague

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    After a series of biochemical tests and evaluation to determine several unknown bacteria, the bacterium Yersinia pestis was chosen to report. The discovery of Y. pestis dates back to 1894 by French/Swiss physician and bacteriologist named Alexandre Yersin. The name Yersinia pestis is synonymous with its more common name, the plague. Y. pestis is known to infect small rodents such as mice and rats, but is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected animal or flea. Although this bacterium is known to still cause illness today, it is infamous for three pandemics that occurred in earlier centuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first recorded pandemic occurred in 541 A.D. and is known as the Justinian Plague. The second pandemic originated in China in 1334 and has received the egregious name the “Black Death.” Finally, the third outbreak took place in the 1860’s and is known as the Modern Plague. It wasn’t until the end of the Modern Plague that scientists discovered the causative agent and mode of transmission of the Yersinia pestis bacterium.

    Read More

  • The Bubonic Plague: The Causes Of The Black Death

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague is perhaps the greatest and horrifying tragedies to have ever happened to humanity. The Plague was ferocious and had such a gruesome where people would die in such a morbid fashion that today we are obsessed with this subject.

    Read More

  • A Plague: The Black Death, By Rosemary Horrox

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Black Death is one of the deadliest epidemics to ever hit mankind. It is estimated that this epidemic killed nearly 30%-60% of the population depending on the location. Recently, scholars have argued over the existence of the Black Death as a Plague in the form of Yersinia Pestis. Many argue, through scientific research and primary sources, that the Black Death was indeed a plague. Their critics argue that there is not enough evidence in the correlation of the scientific research and the primary sources to conclude that the Black Death was really a plague. The primary source The Black Death, by Rosemary Horrox, is a compilation of different accounts of the plague throughout Europe in the 1300’s. The two modern sources Plague Historians

    Read More

  • Comparing the AIDS Epidemic and The Plague

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Black Death

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Plague - The Black Death

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    "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.

    Read More

  • How Did The Black Death Affect Medieval European Society

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Black Death changed the medieval European society totally in a positive way. In medieval Europe before the plague, European countries had the manorialism, which the society was divided into distinctive sections. Peasants and serfs had to live in a manor and listen to their lords. They needed to work for the lord and got

    Read More

  • The Black Death: Bubonic Plague’s Worst Disaster

    1759 Words  | 4 Pages

    The actual cause of the Black Death is still debated today, but most historians believe that it was the result of a plague with bacteria. The bubonic plague most likely affected humans with a bacterium that caused many problems. The bacterium that caused the bubonic plague is called Yersinia pestis. A combination of old historical records and details give some evidence that the bubonic plague was indeed caused by this bacteria. Scientists have worked to obtain even more evidence by excavations. Burial sites from the Black Death period were excavated to find the skeletons of plague victims. The skeletons were tested in order to see if the victims had be...

    Read More

  • Bubonic Plague Dbq Essay

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Bubonic Plague DBQ Sweeping through Western Europe during the fourteenth century, the Bubonic Plague wiped out nearly one third of the population and did not regard: status, age or even gender. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Bubonic Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. The Plague was thought to be spread by the dominating empire during this time, the Mongolian Empire, along the Silk Road. The Bubonic Plague was an infectious disease spread by fleas living on rats, which can be easily, be attached to traveler to be later spread to a city

    Read More

  • Positive and Negative Results of The Black Plague

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Black Plague Analysis

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Black Death’s origins and ability to spread was swift and devastating. The plague first entered Europe in October 1347, when after a vast voyage through the Black Sea, a dozen Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina (History). The people

    Read More

  • How the Justinian Plague Paved the Way to The Black Death

    1966 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the fourteenth century, Europe faced one of the worst tragedies of its time. A mysterious plague claimed millions of lives, cutting Europe’s population into half of what it was. Historians today call this catastrophe the Black Death. Many people know little about the Black Death but to understand its significant role in history, one must know its early origins, rapid spread, painful symptoms, and devastating effects.

    Read More

More about Bubonic Plague

Open Document