The Black Plague of Europe

The Black Plague of Europe

Introduction

The exact origin of the plague that ravaged Europe and Asia during the fourteenth century is unclear. Whether it came from China, Inner Asia or a coastal city on the Black Sea, by 1347 the disease had progressed into Western Europe along the trading routes followed by caravans and sailing ships. Five years later, having spread from Sicily throughout the European mainland as far north as England, the Black Death had killed 25 million people: one third of Europe's population. Writers such as Giovanni Boccaccio reported on the plague's characteristics and popular reactions to it. Among those who believed it to be a form of divine punishment, scenes of collective hysteria, self-flagellation, and lynching of foreigners were commonplaces. The effects of the Black Death - social, demographic and economic - were devastating. Although it has been widely held that the Black Death was an epidemic of bubonic plague spread by flea-borne bacteria, recent research raises new questions about these conventional theories.

Discussion

In 1348 a ship landed in Dorset carrying bubonic plague, which had spread from China to Europe. It was carried by fleas feeding off black rats and caused swellings (buboes), high fever, and death within days. The Black Death spread rapidly. Rats thrived in dirty, rubbish& hyphen; filled town streets. Many people fled to the countryside, taking infection with them. No part of Britain escaped it and semi; nine out of ten of those who became infected died.

Decrease of Population

Britain and apos population fell from 4 to 2.5 million in the two years 1348-50. Across Europe 10 million died. Crops rotted in the fields because there was nobody to harvest them. Some villages disappeared completely. Social change and colon; the new power of the peasantry; in the villages that survived, the peasants had new power. The local lord needed to employ farm workers, and so was forced to give the peasants their freedom from manor control and increase their wages.

Religious Change

There were numerous changes occurred in the religion at that time. For instance, many churches closed because priests had to visit the sick, many of them died. It was difficult to replace them and many churches closed. Whereas, on the other hand, many people became very religious, similarly, it has been witnessed, most people were ignorant of what caused the plague because they did not understand infection (Middle Ages, n.d.). ...