In the early 1330s, an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in Europe. The bubonic plague mainly affected rodents, but fleas were also able to transmit the disease to people. Once people were infected, they quickly infected others, which meant the disease spread very rapidly among the population. The plague caused fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes. The disease also caused spots on the skin that started out red and eventually turned black, which is where “The Black Death” got its name. (The Black Death: Bubonic Plague) During the 14th century, there seemed to be no rational explanation for what was happening. No one knew exactly how the Black Death was transmitted from one patient to another and no one knew …show more content…
The death rate kept climbing at an alarming rate, and it ravished the economic and social structures of Europe as they knew it. The lack of peasants and laborers sent wages skyrocketing while the value of land plummeted tremendously. The wages for needed workers increased enormously and created an incredible amount of demand for those workers in the designated fields. With the value of land dropping, the “playing field” for trade among the wealthy and peasants became more even. Bargaining power for peasants rose and provided them with a new found sense of growth and empowerment (The Effects of the Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe). No longer were peasants’ livelihoods dictated by their greedy landlords; they became a valuable resource to those in power, and they knew this gave them a much better position from which to barter. Another huge outcome within this was the increased given rights that women obtained from this whole mess. When peasants were granted more rights and abilities for trade and property ownership, women were also granted these same rights. They were able to take on more responsibility and ownership of property. This included land ownership, trading, and political positons when times had gotten rough. Although it is sad that it took extreme travesty such as wiping out a vast majority of the …show more content…
Wages rose, there was an oversupply of goods, and prices dropped. As a result of all of these contributing factors, the standard of living rose tremendously. A lot of the land could no longer be cultivated. With the post-Plague labor shortage, many nobles tried to keep their land and still make money. People took advantage of the labor shortage and demanded better terms from their owners and landlords. Governments tried to fix wages, but due to the high-demand, low-supply labor situation, they were unsuccessful and laborers continued to demand better treatment. All around the world, people were benefiting left and right from this plague that was widely (and accurately) considered to be unprecedentedly devastating. However, despite the horrific disease and death, there were some strangely positive effects as a result. (The Effects of the Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of
The Black Plague was a dreadful event that caused suffering in Europe, however it was also a wake up call for humanity. Many people believed that the pandemic was because the gods were angry at humanity for… some reason? After the bodies piled up on the street and pits were made to put them in instead of graves people wondered if the gods really cared about them. Another thing the black plague caused is a new class which was the middle class. Serfs and peasants were dying and the demand for them increased to a colossal extent. There was literally a law that had to be made saying basically you had to be part of a landlord's
The Bubonic Plague killed over twenty-five million people during the Elizabethan Era (David Perlin, PhD and Ann Cohen). “The origins of the Black Death can be traced back to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the 1320’s (Ed. Geoffrey J. et al).” The Bubonic Plague has picked up many nicknames. For example, it has been called “The Black Death,” and “one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse” (Ed. Geoffrey J. et al). The Bubonic Plague was very prominent during its time with many people’s lives being affected by the treatments, preventions, and twisted theories that occurred.
Along with the sweeping death that came with the Black Plague came subtle changes in the lives of women in Western Europe. With so many left dead, the demand for workers skyrocketed after the plague. This caused the wages of workers to increase drastically and drew many women into the labor force. Another side effect of the plague was that there were less people to purchase goods and services which, according to the law of supply and demand, led to cheaper prices. For instance a tenement in Sussex, England previously rented for 12 pence was rented out for 6 pence. When you combine the wealth gained by higher wages and cheaper goods with the new legal concept of women being able to inherit property in the absence of a male heir, women were becoming more and more wealthy. This wealth brought women the new power of choice when it came to marriage that they had not had before the Black Death.
Admittedly, the Black Death created many new jobs which was good for the poor. Unfortunately, it also caused an unstable economy. Labor became more expensive due to a shortage of workers which dropped the average aristocratic income by nearly twenty percent. In attempt to fix the imbalance, the government created wage restrictions and new taxes. This benefitted the aristocrats but hurt the peasants. The peasants were angered and revolted causing costly damages. A viscous circle had been created to where both the aristocrats and the peasants were poor. With an unbalanced economy, the empire slowly began to experience more and more crises.
The Black Death had a massive impact on the economy as states were unable to collect taxes from the peasants as the population was more scatter after the Black Death. Additionally there was no produce to sell many as ports were closed to trade. The mass death of the labourers and peasants led to a shift in power as there was a depleted labour pool. Labourers and peasants were able demanded higher wages and better living conditions. In contrast the economic impact of the Black death was felt by the Noblemen as they were forced to raise the wages to encourage people to stay on their land. Not only did the Noblemen need their tax; peasant were also a
The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a rapid infectious outbreak that swept over Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s resulting in the death of millions of people. Tentatively, this disease started in the Eastern parts of Asia, and it eventually made its way over to Europe by way of trade routes. Fever and “dark despair” characterized this plague. The highly contagious sickness displayed many flu-like symptoms, and the victim’s lymph nodes would quickly become infected. The contamination resulted in a colossal and rapid spread of the disease within one person’s body. Due to the lack of medical knowledge and physicians, there was little that people could do to save those dying all around them. Now that a better understanding of
In the 14th century the Black Death engulfed Europe killing an estimated 50 million people. The pandemic is considered extraordinary because it did so in a matter of months. This disease was carried by fleas, the Bubonic Plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, found mainly in rodents, in this case in rats, and the fleas that feed on them.
The general health and wellbeing of the Middle Ages was very poor, mostly as a result of the Black Death. The Black Death, also commonly known as the Black Plague or the Plague, was a widespread disease that killed an estimated 17 to 30 million people between the years of 1346 through 1353. It is widely thought to have originated in Central Asia and eventually made its way to Europe. The symptoms of the Plague appeared in the first few days of infection. At first it starts with flu-like symptoms, such as headache, a fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting. Also, the victim may experience back pain,muscle soreness, and sensitivity to light. After the second or third day, buboes appear. Buboes are swollen lymph nodes which look similar to a large
A major impact for this period of time was the “Black Plague” or also called Black Death. This Phenomena was a bubonic plague that wiped out 1/3 of Europe’s population. The plague was considered one of the deadliest pandemics in the history of humankind. 75 million people around the world lost their lives to this plague noting the biggest number of people being located in Europe. The “Black Plague” played a major role in the economic history of the Western Civilization due to so many people dying, Europe was declining rapidly. There were shortages of labor providing a fertile ground for economic diversification and innovation in technology. There was famine and pestilence, which would eventually lead to the capital accumulation intensification in the urban areas, stimulating the growth of trade and industry.
Black Death The black death had many effects on the middle ages in a political, economic, social, and religious aspect. It was believed to have been spread by rats and fleas. It was also spread airborne through the lungs.
As previously mentioned, financial distinctions faded as a consequence of the plague. The peasant class benefited the most from the economy's sudden inflation, after the Black Death. Peasants found a new rise in wages due to the higher demand for workers. Serfs gained more freedom as they weren't "tied to
Two things that happen during the Black Death were social and economic effects. For economic people what higher wages because so many people were dying so people were short on workers at many jobs. Also it was hard to find workers at this time too. When workers are productive, employers are willing to pay higher wages. The population also decreases because the plague increased the wages of laborer.
Whole communities were unable to perform and provide economic relief due to The Plague. The Plague had killed many valuable lives which slowed economic growth and productivity. This was a negative impact on Europe but with this negative impact also came a positive impact. Due to the loss of many lives, demand for all careers were high. This gave the common people an ability to fight for better pay. This high demand for all occupations and increased price on all products benefited all workers. Matteo Villani states, “But the mortality offered exceptional opportunities,” showing how important these were for the future of all common people and workers. It may be easy to say that the economy was affected negatively with limited resources and a smaller workforce, overall the events have created the transition of how workers should be treated and better
The Black Death was brought to Europe in the 14th history and with it came many problems socially and economically. Some problems included such things as, a drastic decrease in population, shrunken labor supply, peasant revolt, and more. The Black Death, even when it had just arrived, began killing an abundant amount of people. In some villages it was even able to wipe the population out completely! With this low population amount came a shrunken labor supply. This came because they didn’t have enough people, who were able to work, to fill the jobs available. Their solution to fill these jobs was to raise the wages. The raised wages made many more people want to work and even allowed peasants to work for these high salary jobs instead of attending
Some social changes caused by the Black Death were positive. Before the plague, peasant serfs were confined to their lord's estate and received little or no payment for their work . Overpopulation and shortage of resources led to malnutrition and extreme poverty for many peasants. After so many people died, serfs were free to move to other estates that provided better conditions and receive top pay for their work. Landowners, desperate for their labor, often provided free tools, housing, seed and farmland . The worker farmed all he could and paid only the