Plagues And Diseases

The Black Plague changed the world in several different ways. It resulted in medical advances and architectural setbacks. In the 1300's one of the most fearful and deadliest diseases known to humans erupted somewhere in Central Asia; the Black Plague. It came to England in 1348 and for over three centuries the Black Plague remained a continual fear in the everyday life of citizens in Europe. The Plague struck first along the northern edge of the Black Sea in 1348, where it killed and estimated eighty eight thousand people in less than three months.

The Black Death was more terrible, and killed more people than any war in history. The plague was so horrible and terrifying that people said it made all other disasters in the Middle Ages seem like a walk in the park when compared it to the Black Death. The infested rat, called the black ship rat, was carried in the baggage of merchants on board ships traveling all over the Mediterranean. They didn't know it, but It was the people that actually spread the disease across the land. The plague spread in a great arc across Europe, starting in the east in the Mediterranean Sea, and ending up in Germany.

A historically famous plague in the fourteenth and fifteenth century is the Black or Bubonic Plague. The social and economic affects of the plague in Europe were detrimental to the population and economy. The Black Plague is an Oriental Plague marked by inflammatory boils and tumors of the glands. Such break outs were found in no other febrile disease ( Hecker, pg 2). Inflammatory boils often appeared and black spots which indicated decomposition of the body ultimately appeared on the skin.

Just in Europe did it kill one-third of their population, meanwhile completely destroying two-thirds of China’s population, and decimating many Muslin towns. The disease flared and raged so quickly there wasn’t enough time to bury all the dead, so they mainly waited until the end and held a large memorial service. The disease itself was ripping apart the very fabric of society. The virus attacks the lymph nodes and lungs. The buboes formed from the virus are usually formed in the groin or armpit depending on the closest lymph node.

In the thirteen hundreds Europe was hit with the worst epidemic the world has ever seen. It was called the black plague. This disease was spread throughout the continent in less then 4 years. The amount of death this disease caused formed severe mental damage on the people who lived around it at that time. Some historians believe that the plague was so bad that Europe is still recovering from it today.

German scientist and satirist, Georg C. Lichtenberg, once said, “Sickness is mankind's greatest defect.” Sickness affects everyone, no matter where one is from or how one lives. Even in today’s world with modern medicine, sickness runs rampant. If one were to think back to when the only cures society had were rituals, a prime example of sickness in a society is England. Recalling the plagues in England, one can easily see the two prominent plagues that struck, along with how they affected English economy and culture. In the 1300’s, England was struck with a plague called the Bubonic Plague, better known as the “Black Death.” Historians believe this disease arrived by ship at a seaport in modern day Ukraine (Byrne 1).

​Imagine the world as it is. There are many people living on the planet at a given time. Now imagine that out of the estimated 7 billion people on earth, about 4,200,000,000 people were suddenly eradicated because of a disease infesting just a part of the world. No, it isnt a scene or plot from a horror movie, this horrible reality is actually fact and has already happened in the distant past. I am talking, of course, of the Black Death of Europe.

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. Before the Black Plague, living in Britain was interesting and positive but, was not always pleasant. It was too crowded and dirty, Britain was disgusting and unsanitary for the citizens for a long period of time, even before the disease spread to Europe (Ibeji n.pag.). Thus, Britain being so dirty, it was easier for this disease to spread.

Once a few people contracted the disease, it spread like wildfire. In 1347, a town called Kaffa was attacked by the Tartar army (Edmonds). The Tartars, however, contracted the plague and began to die out. The people of the city had no idea what was destroying their enemies, but it didn't ... ... middle of paper ... ...ything about the plague was bad. If it hadn't have happened, we might still be just as filthy and medically uneducated as we were, and the tyrannical monarchies of Europe could still be in power.

The nursery rhyme “ Ring Around The Rosy” is more than a popular song little children sing while holding hands, walking around in a circle and then falling down. The nursery rhyme refers to the Black Death, one of the worst plagues of all time (Schladweller). Known as infectious diseases that spread quickly and kill countless people, plagues have had a tremendous affect on people around the world since the beginning of time. The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, is a contagious bacterial infection that has killed millions of people. With the bubonic plague brutally killing one fourth of Europe in the 14th century and devastating China in the 18th century (Link), it is noted in history books as the worst plague of all times.