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Bubonic Plague Dbq

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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

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