The Black Death Essay

The Positive Effects of the Black Death The Black Death was the fear-inducing disease that struck medieval Europe. Nevertheless, positive effects can emerge from what is described as nothing but a catastrophe. The Black Death was the most fatal plague in history and forever changed the course of Europe's society. Before the epidemic, the Roman Catholic Church was seen as all-powerful and was obeyed by most citizens.

The Black Death caused many positive and negative changes in medieval society. Since the Black Death caused such a vast amount of humans to die in a short period, there was a large surplus of food however a shortage of peasants to work the land. This labour shortage meant that serfs were no longer tied to the land and could leave to find higher wages, as said in Chronicle of the Black Death 'such a shortage of workers... scarcely be persuaded to serve the eminent unless for triple wages'. Secondly, because of the upwards mobility and lack of structure that came from the Black Death and the fact that serfs could ask for more pay, feudalism became a lot less prominent in many places and was eventually replaced with other systems, such as capitalism.

It is no wonder that the Europeans felt that their economic environment was vulnerable and uneasy, “European economy slowly improved, and agriculture and manufacturing production eventually reached pre-famine levels” (Nelson, Insert Year). The economy impact of the Black Death must start with the historical context that the economy was not as sturdy as other time periods or European history. For this reason, the set back, economically speaking, was an enormous strain on European life. With population decreasing drastically, and the economy barely trying to recover from the famine, the Europeans suffered in terms of having workers to produce into the economy--especially to create food for what was left of the population. For these reasons, the Black Death took a major toll on the economy of Europe and created relentless heart ache, “Many people touched by the plague moved away from medieval cities and towns to unaffected areas.

Moreover, the Black Death caused a gastric drop in the economy. Workers died, prices rose, and lords pushed laws so peasants couldn't demand higher wages leading to many revolts and rebellions. Due to the death of so many people, there weren't enough people buying products so the prices rose tremendously. Since the plague started killing millions of workers, lords would try force the survivors to work. But, the surviving workers began to demand higher wages since there were higher prices in the sales market.

The Black Death was so devastating to Europe because of the population change and the effects it had on people. The Black Death changed many people’s lives. For example, most of the population decreased, which is sad because their lives are gone. It affected Spain, France, and Italy in 1348; Barbaria, and England in 1349; and Poland in 1350.

This disease also brought about changes for the people in the affected areas. The Black Death caused large changes in the population of Europe during the Middle Ages. In the article Depopulation, Rebellion and Social Progress it states, “It has been roughly estimated that a third of England died from the Black Death of 1348-49, and perhaps this figure in not far from the losses suffered in other areas of Europe…” The number of losses suffered in this time makes the Black

All plagues strike by uprooting individual lives and society as a whole. Nevertheless, the particular circumstances regarding the government, and religious and cultural beliefs in the affected lands influence the specific results of the tragedy, as witnessed through the Black Death and smallpox. Although both diseases led to drastic economic changes, they caused different overturns of religious beliefs, and only the Black Death resulted in the creation of public health services and the marginalization of groups of people. A lack of labor precipitated alterations to the economy--the end of feudalism in the case of the Black Death and the creation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the case of smallpox.

Many factors played a key role in the extensive spread of the Black Death, or Bubonic plague, like insect bites or rodents, but the progressive trade networks were the most impactful. It started in Asia, in the 1300’s, but the new trade routes allowed it to spread across the Indian Ocean. Many people from many different backgrounds were negatively affected by this disease, and many didn’t know that they were exposed to the disease until it was too late. The Black Death had a variety of clinical forms, but no matter which type a person had, they were guaranteed death. This disease completely changed the medieval world and affected religions as well as many other ways of life or cultures.

The effects of the Black Death were significant on Medieval society. The black death caused panic amongst communities and towns leaving unmaintained paddocks and scarce amounts of food. This is due to the plague's rapidly spreading nature, and the fact that many people died. The plague left Europe with a multitude of short and long-term effects and issues. These issues varied from flagellants whipping themselves, from town to town, to make up for sins against God to the loss of labourers to work the land.

The Black Death impacted the economic and social balance of several monarchies. First, the people of Europe flogged themselves to renounce their sins and to achieve holiness. Secondly, the people disregarded the social balance, spiritual and secular laws. The Black Death not only broke up families, as the Romans

The Bubonic Plague killed millions of Europeans in its time of reign (DeLeo and Hinnebusch 42). The Plague was a very catastrophic time period, and due to lack of medical knowledge, the mass contagion was blamed on the Jews, and many other stigmas were also created as a result. In light of the massive death, the overall social construct and economy of the Middle Ages was changed as well. Context In order to fully understand why the economy and other social aspects were changed during the middle age, it is vital to understand what the plague was life.

The Black Death brought a period of growth to an end, and killed roughly a third of Europe’s population in just a few years. While the plague was present, a series of destructive wars were tearing apart trade and economy. Europe was repeatedly experiencing hard times and the Plague was when they just couldn't handle anything else (concourse). As more and more people died, it became much harder to find people to work fields, harvest crops, and produce other goods and services. Peasants began to demand higher wages.

During the late 1340s the standards of living for the peasants began to increase. According to Routt, many peasants were able to afford things that they were not able to before due to the surplus and the plummet of the prices of goods. Since many of the workers died because of the Black Death, many employers were left without workers. These employers grudgingly employed the peasants since they were the only people left who were not infected and who did not have jobs. The Black Death had a profound effect agriculture.

The Black Death was a plague that was in Asia that also spread to Europe in the Middle Ages. Its took a toll on the society, trading and political development. Since the plague was considered to be bubonic and pneumonic almost anyone could catch it. At the time, there was not much knowledge on how to treat people with the plague. There also wasn’t much knowledge on hyenine, so the plague spread faster.

Consequently, the black death caused the stable system, known as feudalism to cease to exist in Europe. The Black death is a horrible disease that caused many symptoms in and on the body and was easily transmitted. There are a few different