The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in European history. The plague first arrived in Sicily, at the port of Messina, on twelve trading ships. (History) Welcoming citizens had no clue of the terror that would soon be unleashed upon their lands. Every sailor aboard each ship was either dying or dead from the vicious disease, and the living were desperate for a helping hand. Unfortunately, the people they saw as their savior were not so generous. Authorities ordered the ships to leave at once, not realizing that it was already too late. As the plague wreaked havoc across Europe, it destroyed everything in its path. People started to lose faith in God and began to wonder why he would let such a horrendous event carry on. Others thought of it as some type of punishment for all of man’s sins, and these individuals had their own way of reaching out for redemption. Europe began to crumble before their very eyes. Eventually, the Black Death led to the fall of Feudalism and serfdom. There was no organization left in society, no power or control. It just didn’t exist anymore. The virulent pestilence took innocent lives, day, after day, with no remorse.
The most sever epidemic in human history, The Black Death ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed many villages. The Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms that contributed to the crisis of the Fourteenth Century. This plague not only took a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years to follow. The Black Death divides the central and the late Middle Ages. This horrible catastrophe that occurred in 1348, swept through Europe causing numerous changes.
The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, or the Bubonic Plague killed one third of the population of Europe during its reign in the 13th and 14th centuries. The arrival of this plague set the scene for years of strife and heroism. Leaving the social and
Moments of impact change people’s lives. The Black Death had an extensive impact on the European society. It caused mass changes in the economy, religion, and people’s character. The Black Death arrived in Italy in 1348 and it spread rapidly from the peninsula across Europe. It killed about half the population of Europe.
The Black Death first appeared in Sicily around October 1347, abroad Genoese trading ships that had sailed from the port of Caffa. The men on these ships were diseased and dying with black swellings and boils all over their body and most died within five days. The Black Death had made its way to Europe, and started to wreak havoc on the population. By January 1348, the plague had reached Paris and by August it was in England. Populations sharply decreased as the plague took its toll, indiscriminate in its killing. Worse of all, it wasn’t just one disease that was killing off whole populations- there were two differ...
The Black Death was a major factor in the history of Europe as well as the history of the world. Rivaling the effects of an immense bioterrorist attack, the Black Death was responsible for the taking of over 25 million lives. Creating economic, societal, and medical changes, the Black Death forced Europe to essentially recreate its entire groundwork. At the time of the Black Death, medicine remained very archaic,
The Black Death caused intense suffering and many problems across Europe. According to the book, The Black Plague the black death started when a twenty-five year old man who skinned a sick bobcat. “A Few days after this, the rancher began to feel sick. He suffered from headaches, chills, fever, and then nausea. He threw up several times. About five days after skinning the bobcat, he noticed a swelling the size of a baseball in his left armpit and became concerned” (Page 1). The Black Death, or also known as the Bubonic Plague killed one third of the population, or 25 million people. So many people died and it became a common thing, to see another person suffering. As said by Agnolo di Tura of Siena “It seemed that almost everyone became stupefied by seeing the pain. And it is impossible for the human tongue to recount the awful truth” (doc 11). As this quote shows, many people suffered from the plague. The plague took millions of lives. As stated in the book Life During the Black Death “famines, wars, and a host of deadly diseases all took millions of lives during the 1300s but the worst single calamity to wrack this troubled century was the black death” (page. 8). As this quote shows, the black death killed far more people than ...
Small pox. Tuberculosis. AIDS. These diseases have been considered epidemics at various points throughout the history of the world. None of them, however, had such an impact on the population and culture of the people than did the Black Death. The Black Death was a disease that invaded England in the middle of the fourteenth century. Reports on the total amount deceased have varied from between twenty-five percent and fifty percent of the European population. However, it is known that many millions of people were eliminated from the English population, and that the Black Death was a catalyst for social change within Europe. The culture and lives of all people rich and poor was changed forever due to the effects of the Black Death.
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
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.
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 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 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.
It cannot be argued that the Black Plague was detrimental to every aspect of Europe’s communities. It was a powerful epidemic that wiped out a third of the continent’s population. Out of the midst of all its terror, however, positive after effects presented themselves. Some of these effects included revolutions in the church and society, eventually leading to the separation of church and state. Feudalism was also challenged as peasants demanded wages and revolted. Along with social changes came technological innovations, new inventions, and an attention to hygiene and the beginning of modern medicine. The plague may have devastated Europe, but it also gave way to a new era.
Around 1339 in northwestern Europe, the population began to outgrow the food supply and a severe economic crisis incremented. The winters were inordinately cold and the summers were arid and dry. Due to this extreme weather, a minute number of crops could produce and those that grew were dying. On the wake of these seven distressing years of weather and famine was the greatest plague of all times, The Black Death. In 1347 AD, The Black Death began spreading throughout Western Europe. Over the time span of three years, the widespread epidemic killed one third of the population in Europe with pretty near twenty five million people dead. The Black Death killed many more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, vastly impacting the Church, the people, and the economy. These three social backbones were changed forever.