Even today, centuries later, the words “Black plague” can still send chills throughout your body. The horrifying images, which replay in your mind where thousands upon thousands of people suffering in agony and dying would have left most people in a state of overall confusion and terror, the populace knew once inflicted with the disease, that the outcome was almost certain death, this in itself was tremendously devastating. Scarier and even more frightening then the plague, was that, population knew there was nowhere to turn to for help; it must have been overwhelmingly demoralizing. The psychological trauma alone, by watching family, friends, and neighbors become infected and die before your eyes, and no way to help them, undoubtedly, the plague had enormous emotional and spiritual effects on the population. Just viewing the signs and symptoms of the plague, or the death all around you must have stopped you with a reaction, or response of sudden fear. The bubonic plague was unrelenting; it had a fast infection rate, and was usually always deadly. The disease spread fast throughout the population, the infected developed a sudden fever, headache, chills, and swollen and tender lymph nodes. The other symptoms were even more callus and terrifying, these other maladies which were referred to as buboes ( or abscesses) that began in the lymph glandes of the groin or armpit area, once afflicted the these areas slowly filled with pus, turning the body , a deathly black , therefore this is where the popular label “ The Black Death” originated from. Once the boils and accompanying fever appeared, death usually followed within two to three days. Europe reeling from the massive tragedy was caught off guard, and was literally crush...
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...he plague , attacked the body and attached itself to the cells within the body and how it spread . And they also showed in this particular town why these people were unaffected by the plague, the town’s residents when infected with the plague, showed that when the plague went to attach itself to their cells, these townspeople were missing one particular cell, so the virus would not attach to the cell, just bounce off, hence no infection. Today the experts fill, if we were hit by another pandemic, the Hippocratic Oath would not exist, and the hospitals would be virtual ghost towns. Even a smaller natural disaster such a Katrina, hitting New Orleans, sent the state, in to complete chaos. We should as a society be studying these events, learning how to respond to these disasters, so when the next event occurs, we maybe better suited on how to respond and handle them.
The Black Death rapidly spread all over Europe and Asia, inciting great fear and hysteria. Victims of the Black Death suffered excruciating symptoms such as high fevers, an inability to digest food, and hallucinations due to the intense physical suffering. People inflicted with the disease developed black boils that secreted pus and blood, which is how the plague got its infamous name. “The epidemic ravaged the population for the next five years, killing more than 20 million people in Europe, almost one third of the continent’s population” (Plague, 2).
The effects of the Black Death on Medieval Europe were that the economy fell, faith in religion decreased, and the demand for labor was high. The Black Death was a deadly disease that devastated Medieval Europe. This bubonic plague killed 1/3 of the European population, crippling the economy and faith in religion.
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.
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 Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe 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.
Since Plagues and Peoples covers several subjects of knowledge, he helps the reader understand key concepts by fully explaining parasitism and its dependence on humans and animals. People in the field of history, which make up a majority of this books audience, would need more insight into epidemiology to grasp its key concepts. It would not be likely for a historian to be knowledgeable in a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in populations.
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.
Steve Jobs once said, “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new”. In the fourteenth Century, one the most devastating epidemics to ever be witnessed hit Europe and claimed over fifty million lives. Death became a normal part of life, and it overtook cities, homes and families. However, the plague did more to Europe than kill off almost one-third of its population, it brought grand-scale changes necessary to advance life and bring Europe out of the Dark Ages. The plague was the first time in recorded history that an epidemic was vast enough to have a lasting impact in European society on church authority, the use and invention of technology, and social balance.
The population of Europe itself was reborn during the Renaissance. I was surprised to learn that the population of Europe declined approximately 25 to 50 % during the time of the black plague in the 1300's. Apparently it wasn't until around 1500 that the population started to grow and recover to its previous size. The European economy also looks to have been reborn during the Renaissance, which was desperately needed after the economic upheaval of the fourteenth century. Trade recovered and expanded, along with old and new
The people in Europe were scared and terrified of the plague coming to their village or infecting them. The villages after some time of having the virus would have a crier announcing the day’s death toll. The people that were infected were sometimes shunned wherever they went, not many people would help them. The people that have already died would be immediately moved to the graveyard. The Black Plague lasted for a longer period than any other disease, leaving behind a huge amount of dead bodies that earth could not decompose quickly. The lives of the villagers were rough just by seeing their relatives dying in their homes but also to seeing people die in the streets. What scared the villagers most was the ghost ship, that was filled with rats and fleas and they were also filled with the bodies of the dead sailors that round it. Some people believed that the plague was a punishment from God for the sins that they have committed or that the infected people have
...y had before it was too late. Similar to Boccaccio, Mee too lists the multiple reactions people exhibited. Fathers and mothers would abandon their children, people would swallow pus from plague victims, and, sick or not, citizens would be trapped inside their houses, left to die . Mee discusses the extremes that people would go to in order to keep the plague from infecting them. As discussed in Mee’s article, once the plague had hit a city it was every man or woman for themselves. Whether it was parent and child or husband and wife, the plague didn’t discriminate against who it would infect and who would not. Venette, Boccaccio and Mee each describe how the Black Plague affected society in different ways. Citizens who were lucky enough to survive the epidemic took major precautions against the infection and many of these precautions were became extreme measures.
The plague was spread by fleas, which were not effected by the disease. Fleas first infected the rats, which lived off garbage and sewage. The rats then spread the infection to the humans. Rats were a common sight in the cities, due to the poor sanitary conditions, so no one suspected them (www.tartans.com). In the winter the plague seemed to disappear, but only because fleas were dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims (www.byu.edu). The effects of the plague were devastating. After just five years, twenty-five million people were dead - one third of Europe's population. Once people were infected they infected others very rapidly. As a result, in order to avoid the disease, many fled to the countryside where the lower population density helped to decrease the speed at which the disease spread (www.tartans.com). From a person's time of infection to his or her death was less than one week (www.home.nycap.rr.com). The plague became known as "The Black Death" because of the discoloration of the skin and black enlarged lymph nodes that appeared on the second day of contracting the disease. The term "The Black Death" was not invented until after 1800. Contemporaries called it "the pestilence" (Cantor 7).
During the course of the Plague common beliefs and/or concerns underwent a dramatic change. During the early years of the Plague outbreak the prevalent belief was of fear of the Plague and its uncertainty of the cause. Most people during this time were concerned that the Plague would affect their economy and their own work/business. People were also concerned of their lives and their family's well being. Then as time went on beliefs changed from this to fear to a religious superstition.
The Black Plague, perhaps one of the worst epidemics in history, swept its evil across Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing an estimated 20 million people. This major population shift, along with other disasters occurring at the time, such as famine and an already existing economic recession, plunged Europe into a dark period of complete turmoil. Anarchy, psychological breakdowns, and the dissipation of church power were some of the results. As time passed, however, society managed to find new ground and began its long path of recovery. The plague, as catastrophic as it was to medieval Europe, had just as many positive effects that came with this recovery as it did negative effects prior. An end to feudalism, increased wages and innovation, the idea of separation of church and state, and an attention to hygiene and medicine are only some of the positive things that came after the plague. It could also be argued that the plague had a significant impact on the start of the Renaissance.
This affected more than just Europe, it really hurt countries in the Middle East and China. The Black Death was spread by the Mongols and passed into Europe through black rats and fleas. Ships were known to arrive in Europe with many dead bodies and only rats living. Symptoms of the Black Death included puss filled abscesses that ended up turning your whole body black. It is believed that after receiving symptoms of the deadly disease people would only survive a few days. It was feared that the entire population would be wiped out by this devastating plague. People of this age believed the plague had meaning and was related to God, there were different perceptions of why the Bubonic plague happened, although some believed God caused it, others strongly believed that it was not possible for God to commit an act that would cause so many issues to the world and its society. The population that survived the Black Death were traumatized by the events and also affected negatively economically. An effect of the plague was a shortage of labor which caused a shortage of supply and increase in demand of workers and laborers. The whole of Europe had changed because of this event and things such as revolts. Protests, and up rise started to occur in cities all over Europe. The Black Death changed the attitudes and thinking of the people of Europe