Essay On The Black Death

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The Black Death (What was it? Where did it originate? What were its short-term and long-term effects?) What was the Black Death? • The Black Death also known by many as the “bubonic plague” was a very dangerous and contagious disease that destroyed about two-thirds of Europe's population (20-50 million people) the outbreak swept through Europe between 1346 and sporadically until the late 1700’s. This plague continually hit Europe in outbursts for centuries. The Black Death was one of the most severe pandemics to ever hit Europe resulting in dramatic changes to its population, economy, religion, and society. • The Black Death was very dangerous as it spread all over the world and many people were at risk of catching it. The Black…show more content…
The workforce had been destroyed -- farms were abandoned and buildings crumbled. The price of labor skyrocketed in the face of worker shortage, and the cost of goods rose. The price of food did not go up, perhaps because the population had declined so much. • Short term effects: One- third of Europe population was wiped out. Large piles of dead, rotten bodies lying in the streets, spreading the disease. The immediate aftermath of the Black Death was a sudden decline in trade and a halt to wars, though both of these picked up soon after. • Long Term effects were the reduction of land under cultivation and a rise in labor costs due to the vastly reduced laboring population who were able to claim higher remittance for their work. Immunity to the disease ( which comes in handy when conquering the Native Americans) What was the cause of the Black Death? It was not until 1894 that scientists discovered the cause of the plague. It came from a germ which lived on fleas that lived on the Black Rats. When the rats died, the flea moved to live on humans, and the plague germ got into their blood. Towns in the middle Ages were crowded, dirty places. There was a lot of rubbish about for the rats to feed on. Most people had fleas anyway, so they had no idea that it was the fleas that carried the plague
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