Estimates differ, but most historians believe that the Black Death killed half the population of Europe. They make up 50% of people on death row, while only making up 13% of the population. The Black Death was an infamous plague causing an estimated 20 million deaths in Europe. Tragic depopulation created the shortage of working people. The price of labor skyrocketed in the face of worker shortage, and the cost of goods rose. Lesson exploring the impact and significance of the Black Death. It is estimated that between 1348 and 1351, 25 million people worldwide died from the Black Death. Black Death was a plague epidemic that swept across Europe between 1348 and 1353, killing nearly 25 to 60% of the entire population of Europe. New York: The Free Press, 1983. The consequences of the Black Death have had both immediate and long-term effects on human population across the world. If you didn’t die from the horrible symptoms of the disease, then starving to death was a likely possibility. We should not lose sight of the fact that millions of people died due to the Black Death. It is considered the just punishment for a person legally convicted of an action which is deemed a safety threat to society. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The disease was primarily spread by the fleas that live upon these rodents. Its spread and impact is disputed, but it does give an insight into a medieval way of life. Per Politico:. The precise effects are difficult to assess given the huge loss of life and subsequent inconsistent records. Read about our approach to external linking. 4. They used aromatic herbs to purify the air. The Black Death is, in fact, not one but two related diseases. Also with there being a shortage of workers, property owners came to the question: who will see to their land? In some places there was even no-one left to bury the dead let alone record the effects. The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe. A person suffering from bubonic plague in the Middle Ages had a 60% chance of dying within two to five days of being infected. It was a horrible time for the human history but it helped us advance our medicine, allowed serfdom to end, helped equalize the government for a time. passed laws to stop wages rising, poor people became very angry – some historians think this helped to cause the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The bubonic plague had a thirty to seventy-five percent mortality rate. As whole villages were wiped out by the Black Death, leaving no one to work the land. Before the pestilence, humans did have a long history of using perfume, but with the Black Death, use of personal fumigants truly became the rage. Even though the black plague was extremely devastating to the human population, it really did not affect things such as land and buildings. These fleas (commonly Xenopsylla cheopis), having bitten the host, consume the diseased blood. (3) The Black Death significantly changed the social structure of some European regions. Following the epidemic, there were improvements in standards of living, particularly in dietary quality … The medieval Black Death (c. 1347-1351) was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. It was a type of plague, that was spread via the bite of infected rat fleas. The plague reached Europe through the sea in October 1348. Europe's population had been hard hit, which had an economic impact. Throughout history many natural events have had a profound effect on mankind, but few of these events have shaped history and culture as profoundly as the Black Death. The most common form is bubonic plague. Life during the Black Death was extremely unpleasant. The Black Death was technically called the Bubonic Plague, but the Black Death was the more common name at the time. 10. However, historians have suggested the Black Death had significant consequences: Psychological : the Black Death had a huge influence on the way people thought about life. First of all, we should note that it is a little cold-blooded to talk about positive effects of this horrible human tragedy. Today scientists think it was an outbreak of plague. The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. The Black Death was an infamous plague causing an estimated 20 million deaths in Europe. This disease is spread when infected fleas that normally live on black rats land on people and bite them. The Black Death – Manifestations of the epidemic The Black Death had three manifestations -- bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicaemic plague. The Black Death gave a lot of new material for artists to work with, and it was a new inspiration for many composers. About 40% of the population of England was wiped out. The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence, the Great Plague or the Plague, or less commonly the Black Plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351. Much is known about the Plague. In addition, the Black Death significantly changed the social structure of some European regions. The name Black Death came from the swollen buboes (glands) in the victim’s neck, armpits and inner thigh, that turned black as they filled with blood. Some historians however claim that the plague wiped out nearly 2/3rd of the entire European population. The disease spread fast and covered the territory from China to England and the ultimate western part of Europe, covering almost entire Europe within several years. Bubonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but it may also cause septicaemic or pneumonic plagues. The Black Death was one of the most feared diseases in the 14th century. It is counter-intuitive to punish a murderer by murdering them. Some historians (Benedictow 2004) suggest that the wealthier classes were less affected due to their wealth enabling them to flee from outbreaks. Even more is not. This shortage caused wages’ rise. The Black Death started with a plague bacteria, known as your Yersinia pestis, which exists in the bloodstream of rats, mice, squirrels, marmots and other rodents. It killed tens of millions of Europeans, and recent analyses have shown that the disease targeted elderly adults and individuals who had been previously exposed to physiological stressors. For one, the rapid drop in people during the Black Death made labor and work extremely scarce. Dave Fowler • History in Numbers • All third party trademarks are hereby acknowledged. The Black Death might have represented a strong force of natural selection and removed the weakest individuals on a very broad scale within Europe. Some contemporaries realised that the only remedy for plague was to run away from it – Boccaccio’s Decameron is a series of tales told among a group of young people taking refuge from the Black Death outside Florence. Cons of the Black Plague The Black Death had many drawbacks as was show in the cons slide but then again there were multiple pluses shown in the pros slide. But by 1352, it had essentially loosened its grip. The Black Death was the name given to the deadly disease that hugely disrupted Europe between 1347 and 1351. The Black Death (also known as The Black Plague) became a full blown epidemic in 1347 when 12 Genoese ships docked in the port of Messina. 2. However, you probably know that there were some negative consequences as well. During the Black Death, doctors believed, among other things, that poisonous vapors caused the plague. 2. At the time the pandemic ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, many people thought the Black Death was a punishment for their sins. The Black Death And Its Impact On Society 1291 Words | 6 Pages. Above: There were human and animal victims of the Black Death (detail from 16th century woodcut, unknown German artist). The Black Death reared its head sporadically in Europe over the next few centuries. (4a) Tragic depopulation created the shortage of working people. By: Gaby Romero Gerrylyn Cortado What is the black death? The death penalty, or "capital punishment" if one prefers a friendlier term, is the planned killing of an individual by a government or ruling entity in response to a crime. Because of the Black death about half the people in Europe died as a result there was a severe shortage of labour and this caused wages to rise to about 3 times what they were before. While the short term effects of the plague might The negatives were: half the people in London died. Interesting Black Death Facts: 1-10. The death penalty is expensive. Some lived wild, immoral lives, others fell into deep despair, whilst many chose to accept their fate. The workforce had been destroyed -- farms were abandoned and buildings crumbled. In some places, eg the village of West Thickley in County Durham, it killed everybody. The origin of the book, The Black Death, is from its author, historian Robert S. Gottfried, professor of history and director of medieval studies at Rutgers University. Some doctors would refuse to see the ill patients in fear of catching this terrible disease! Its spread and impact is disputed, but it does give an insight into a medieval way of life. The disease was a true mystery for Medieval people, whereas the medicine was under-developed to cope […]