The Bubonic Plague, was a natural form of population control. Before the plague, life in
Europe was getting worse by the day. Europe was severely overpopulated and in a great economic depression. Most of the land that could be farmed on had been abused. This made it difficult to grow food. Overpopulation is the condition of having a population so dense as to cause environmental deterioration, and an impaired quality of life. There was a great rift between the social classes. The poor were treated very badly before the plague. The rich always managed to have enough food, while the poor didn't. After the plague, things changed. The rich and the poor were both dying of this terrible disease.
The social classes that survived the plague, rich and poor, had to come together and find new ways to survive.
This left all social and economic aspects of life in the 13th and 14th century in
Europe at a stand still killing 25% of Europe's population. The dwindling population stopped invading armies of the time. For example, in 1346 a Tarter Army had been attacking the Genovese Cathedral City and trading ports of Caffa on the black sea for a year. The deadly plague hit the invaders and was killing off soldiers at an unstoppable rate. The only problem was that the invaders were catapulting the dead bodies over the walls of the defenders' towns, causing the spread of the plague to infect them.
During all this confusion the church's leadership in the lives of the people weakened. Before the arrival of the Black Death, the church was seen as one of the wealthiest and most powerful landlords in all of Europe. The people felt that the church was abandoning them at this time, but the priests were dying too. When the plague declined, many towns were left without a priest. Those priests who had not fled but ministered to the dying during the plague were constantly exposed to the disease and many died. Consequently, new priests were often ordered without adequate training, and
&nbs...
... middle of paper ...
...famine amongst all the social classes, especially the poor people. Some people may have even resorted to cannibalism.
Before the plague, drinking water was contaminated. Human wastes were put into the rivers, which was eventually drank by the people. Other diseases would have occurred if the plague did not exist. Such water born diseases as Cholera, and Typhoid would have broke out.
War would have increased, because more people would have been fighting for food and other necessities. More people would have died during war. The rift between the poor and rich people would have increased. The poor people always would end up on the bottom.
If the plague did not occur, the church would have continued to control the people's lives, and continue to be obsessed with money. The church controlled part of the people's every day lives and decision making process. I'm sure that the church became a better place, and it's teachings changed for the better. Everyone was now interested in the actual teachings of the church and of God. They were interested in
God's teachings so that they would find
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreIt has been called “the greatest catastrophe ever.” That statement was made in reference to the Black Death which was one of many bubonic plague epidemics. Throughout history, the bubonic plague proved itself to be an extremely lethal disease. Outbreaks of the bubonic plague were devastating because of the stunning number of deaths in each of the populations it reached. The Black Death was the worst epidemic and disaster of the bubonic plague in all of history. The Black Death refers to a period of several years in which affected populations were decimated. The bubonic plague is a disease started by bacteria. The disease has horrible symptoms, and most of the victims die after getting the plague. The bubonic plague spread easily between different areas of people. The Black Death was not the first epidemic of the bubonic plague; there was another outbreak several hundred years before. It is important to understand the history of the bubonic plague and reflect upon the Black Death because plague outbreaks can still occur today.
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
After the plague in the city of Halesowen, “82% of the plague-vacated holdings were taken up by new tenants within the year.” For those young, new people, the plague gave rise to opportunities to fit into the privileged tenant class. “However, the recurring outbreaks of the plague reminded survivors that all earthly delights will inevitably come to an end. Images in churches functioned to remind people of their own perishability.”...
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.
One of the major effects of the Bubonic Plague was the immense death that occurred, especially of the lower classes. This complete resetting of society is what would lead to social mobility of the poorer classes. For instance, one could think of the situation in terms of supply and demand. Before the Plague,
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.
After the Black Death took the cities, shortly after it spread into the villages and farms. Killing the farm workers, the Black Death left crops not gathered which led to a shortage of food supplies and people to starve. Because of the mortality and the labor shortage, prices of goods dropped while the wages rose. Landowners were so desperate that they tried everything to keep the peasants to work for them. This gave the perfect opportunity for the laborers to demand higher wages how much they were valued. During the epidemic, the societies in Europe found their own ways to live through the Black Death. Some people thought that it God that created the plague, so he can punish the people because of their sins. Other people tried to enjoy as much as possible their last moments of their lives because they knew they would eventually die. Day and night people were getting drunk and move from one tavern to another and satisfying every last-minute wish they could. A social long-term consequence of the Black Death was that people lost their faith and were against God because he could not save them from the epidemic. Another consequence covers the economic change of the lower and middle-class people. During the 14th century peasants were at the very bottom but thanks to the Black Death their lives changed dramatically. After the epidemic was over, they were very
Fourth factor was international trade. European demand for good declined due to high American tariffs. European industry & agriculture = productive & difficulties economically.
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 failure of the Crusades, the Great Schism, and the bubonic plague all contributed to the great decline of power of the Church from 1000 to 1500. The failure of the Crusades lessened the power of the pope and weakened feudal nobility and increased power of kings. The Great Schism, caused the papacy to weaken. The Church’s inability to change the course of the plague resulted with a loss of prestige because the prayers failed to stop the onslaught of the plague and the priests abandoned their duties. Additionally, the town populations fell, trade declined as prices rose, and serfs left the manor in search of better wages. The biggest problem of the Church losing its power was because of the bubonic plague. To conclude, these are three events
Valerie only had to knock on the door once before it opened to the sight of a smiling Trinity. “Took your time getting here,” Trinity explained as Valerie crossed over the threshold.
Today the world is plagued with a similar deadly disease. The AIDS epidemic continues to be incurable. In an essay written by David Herlihy, entitled 'Bubonic Plague: Historical Epidemiology and the Medical Problems,' the historic bubonic plague is compared with
Europe’s social structure in the Middle Ages consisted of feudalism. A hierarchical society of Kings granting land to nobles, who would then give a fief to a knight in return for service. The knight would then have peasants or serfs working on their fief. However, as the plague spread, many peasants died and their labour could not be replaced. This loss of workforce had a significant impact upon the economy as grain was not being harvested and livestock roamed free. The agrarian economy had been severely damaged, the land became uncultivated and returned back to its natural state. This rural collapse eventually led to food shortages in towns and cities.
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.
...lted in the decline of businesses. "The labor shortage was very severe and consequently wages rose. Because of the mortality, there was an oversupply of goods and prices dropped. Between the two trends, the standard of living rose, for those still living. Farms or entire villages died out or were abandoned as the few survivors decided not to stay on" (Knox). "The once positive outlook people had on the life of the thirteenth century had perished along with the many lives the plague took along with it" (Rowling, 188).