Black Death

Impact of the Black Death The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in human history. It is often fatal without prompt and appropriate treatment. It affects mainly poor and remote populations. Late diagnosis is one of the major causes of human death and spread of the disease, since it limits the effectiveness of control measures. In the 14th century, at least 75 million people on three continents perished due to the painful, highly contagious disease. Originating from fleas on rodents in China, the Great Pestilence spread westward and spared few regions. In Europes cities, hundreds died daily and their bodies were usually thrown into mass graves. The plague devastated towns, rural communities, families, and religious institutions. Following centuries of a rise in population, the worlds population experienced a catastrophic reduction and would not be replenished for more than one hundred years. Origins and Path of the Black Death The Black Death originated in China or Central Asia and was spread to Europe by fleas and rats that resided on ships and along the Silk Road. The Black Death killed millions in China, India, Persia (Iran), the Middle East, the Caucasus, and North Africa. To harm the citizens during a siege in 1346, Mongol armies may have thrown infected corpses over the city wall of Caffa, on the Crimean peninsula of the Black Sea. Italian traders from Genoa were also infected and returned home in 1347, introducing the Black Death into Europe. From Italy, the disease spread to France, Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, Russia, and Scandinavia.

Science of the Black Death The three plagues associated with the Black Death are now known to be caused by bacteria called Yersinia Pestis, which is carried and spread by fleas on rats. When the rat died after continual bites and replication of the bacteria, the flea survived and moved to other animals or humans. Although some scientists believe that the Black Death was caused by other diseases like anthrax or the Ebola virus, recent research which extracted DNA from the skeletons of victims suggests that Yersinia Pestis was the microscopic culprit of this global pandemic. It is considered to have permanent reservoirs in central Asia, Siberia, the Yunan region of China, and areas of Iran, Libya, the Arabian Peninsula, and East Africa. Rodents was infected with Yersinia pesti, producing blood poisoning.Fleas feed on dying rodent and carry the toxic to unexpected victims. Victims developed inflamed lymph nodes, particularly in the neck, armpit, and groin areas, and most died within a few days after the onset of symptoms (Bentley, Ziegler & Streets, 2008 p.342). These swellings were known as buboes, from the Greek word for

"groin." Buboes became dreaded as signals of impending death. Occasionally these hard knobs would spontaneously burst, pus would drain away and the victim might then recover if not totally exhausted or attacked by other infections. More often, however, the buboes were soon accompanied by high fever and agony (cited in webmaster 2011). Some of the victims die just hours after being effected and some become comatose or wildly delirious. The appearance of postules was another symptom it was dark points on various part of the body. These splotches were most often called lenticulae, from the Italian word for freckles (cited in webmaster 2011). Medical historians believe that the plague can spread in several ways but that it was the pneumonic or respiratory form that accounted for most of the deaths, being easily spread through coughing and sneezing. An interesting alternative was suggested in 1984 by the zoologist Graham Twigg, who had studied rat populations in more recent outbreaks of the plague in Asia. He doubts that the bubonic plague could have spread so rapidly in the fourteenth-century population; instead he nominates anthrax as the killer. Anthrax can be borne on the wind; it is known as a threat to sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. Both plague and anthrax, then, are primarily found in animal populations, with humans becoming "accidental" victims under certain conditions. Whatever its specific cause or causes, the Black Death killed until it ran out of large numbers of vulnerable people. There have been subsequent plague epidemics, some also with high death tolls, and public health authorities continue to monitor possible new occurrences (cited in webmaster 2011). Black Death killed about 1.5 million people out of an estimated 4 million between 1348 and 1350 in England. At the time no technology existed to deal with the disease. The disease actually hit England six times by the end of the century. The Black Death had a huge impact on society. Fields went unploughed as the men who usually did this were victims of the disease. Harvests would not have been brought in as the manpower did not exist. Animals would have been lost as the people in a village would not have been around to tend them (cited in webmaster 2011). Following the plague we find a clear sense of society turned upside down in England. The rulers of the kingdom reacted strongly. Some elements of legislation indicate a measure of panic. Within a year of the onset of plague, during 1349, an Ordinance of Labourers was issued and this became the Statute of Labourers in 1351. This law sought to prevent labourers from obtaining higher wages. Despite the shortage in the workforce caused by the plague, workers were ordered to take wages at the levels achieved pre-plague. Landlords gained in the short term from payments on the deaths of their tenants (heriots), but 'rents dwindled, land fell waste for want of tenants who used to cultivate it' (Higden) and '...many villages and hamlets were deserted...and never inhabited again'. Consequently, landed incomes fell. The bulging piles of manorial accounts which survive for the period of the Black Death testify to the active land-market and the additional administration caused by the onset of plague. But all too often the administration consists of noting defaults of rent because of plague (cited in webmaster 2011). The government and landlords tried to keep wages from rising, wanting to keep the people in the same social class. Lords and peasants alike were indicted for taking higher wages. In 1363 a

Sumptuary Law was brought through parliament. This measure decreed not only the quality and colour of cloth that lay people at different levels of society (below the nobility) should use in their attire but also sought to limit the common diet to basics (cited in webmaster 2011). When the government observed the pleasant was moving up in the social status they were virtually powerless to do anything about it, but indicates that among those who survived the plague there was additional wealth, from higher wages and from accumulated holdings of lands formerly held by plague victims. People started to distrust God and in the church. They realize that religion couldnt do anything to stop the spread of the disease and their family's suffering. During that time period so many priest die and church services in many area simply cease. Jewish populations, meanwhile, were frequently targeted as scapegoats. In some places, they were accused of poisoning the water because their mortality rates were often significantly lower, something historians have since attributed to better hygiene. This prejudice was nothing new in Europe at the time, but intensified during the Black Death and led many Jews to flee east to Poland and Russia, where they remained in large numbers (cited in webmaster 2011). In 1348 medieval society looked to the church when facing death, just as they did to medics, for rituals of comfort. They were quick burying you once you pass away because of the fearing contagion. The family was the only ones that could accompany the body to the cemetery. Many city governments forbid the ringing of parish church bells, believing it would discourage the sick and dying multitudes (cited in webmaster 2011). During the Middle Ages it was essential that people were given the last rites and had the chance to confess their sins before they died. The spread of the deadly plague in England was swift and the death rate was almost 50% in isolated populations such as monasteries (cited in webmaster 2011). The clergy was at short hand. They did not have enough to offer victims last rites or give support. The situation was so bad that Pope Clement VI was forced to grant remission of sins to all who died of the Black Death (cited in webmaster 2011). A person who was affected with the disease would end up confessing their sins to one another. The church could offer no reason for the deadly disease and beliefs were sorely tested. This had such a devastating effect that people started to question religion and such doubts ultimately led to the English reformation (cited in webmaster 2011). The Black Death the great plague of 1348-50 and its aftermath constitute one of the very greatest disaster-recovery experiences ever recorded. The short-term consequences of the disaster include a degree of socio-political disorganization (for example, flight from cities), and changed income and status relationships due to the enhanced economic position of newly scarce labor. A rapid recovery took place in the next decade, without fundamental disruption of economic or political systems. The century following, however, saw a slow-down or reversal in the rate of economic advance of Western Europe (cited in webmaster 2008). The setback was due to the plague, in the light of other pressures and burdens performance in that time frame. These include disruptive wars, possible climatic changes, and the continuing drain of the plague as a result of the establishment of sources of infection in Western Europe. Although direct

inferences as to possible consequences of nuclear wars can hardly be drawn from this 14th century catastrophe, the historical record does not support contentions that either social collapse or an economic downward spiral is a necessary consequence of massive disaster (cited in webmaster 2008). Types and Symptoms of the Plague The first half of the 14th century was marred by war and famine. Global temperatures dropped slightly, decreasing agricultural production and causing food shortages, hunger, malnutrition, and weakened immune systems. The human body became very vulnerable to the Black Death, which was caused by three forms of the plague. Bubonic plague, caused by flea bites, was the most common form. The infected would suffer from fever, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Swelling called buboes and dark rashes appeared on the groin, legs, armpits, and neck. The pneumonic plague, which affected the lungs, spread through the air by coughs and sneezes. The most severe form of the plague was the septicemic plague. The bacteria entered the bloodstream and killed every person affected within hours. All three forms of the plague spread quickly due to overpopulated, unsanitary cities. Proper treatment was unknown, so most people died within a week after infection with the Black Death. The Black Death was another word for the Bubonic plague. Not only did it affect Western Europe, it also affected the Middle East and Asia during 1347-1351. It was spread by fleas carried by rats that were common in the towns and villages of Europe. The fleas bit their victims literally injecting them with the disease. Death could be quick for the victims. It spread quickly as people in the towns and villages lived very close together. Filth littered the streets which gave rats a great environment to breed. People thought the rats caused the disease, but in actuality it was the fleas that did. However, it was the rats that enabled the disease to spread quickly. The plague was spread over considerable distances by the rats and fleas on ships. Infected rats would die on ship, and the fleas would find another one to jump onto. By the ships going from port to port, the fleas would jump onto an unsuspecting traveler and travel to land, rats would get into cargo and be unloaded onto land, thus the spread of the disease continued. The symptoms were almost flu-like. It started with a headache. Then chills and fever, maybe some nausea, vomiting, soreness in the arms and legs. Within a few days the swelling appeared. They were usually hard, painful, burning lumps on the neck, the inner thighs, and the underarms. These lumps usually turned black, split open, and oozed pus and blood. They could possibly grow to be the size of an orange. Some recovered, but most did not recover. Death came quickly most of the time, but when it did not it was extremely painful. Once the lumps appeared, the victim would start bleeding internally, they would have blood in their urine, and the smell of anything coming out of the body was horrible. Most of the time, the victims died within a week of contracting the plague. (Snell, M. 2010).

The plague had a devastating effect on every facet of life and it would take Europes population over 150 years to return to the pre-plague levels. The result was not just a huge decline in population. It changed Europes social and economic structure and it dealt a blow to Europes main organized religion, the Roman Catholic Church. There was widespread persecution of Jews and Lepers, and created an overall morbid mood, which influenced people to live for the moment, unsure of their daily survival. A very important part of the Black Death was it caused the movement of what was left of north European Jews to Poland and Russia, where they remained until the 20th Century. In World War II, the most heinous crimes were committed against the Jewish population of Eastern Europe. Because of the Black Death, the Jewish population of Europe became known as the scapegoat. The Black Death intensified the Medieval Christian tradition of the Jew as the scapegoat, and, causing the migration of such a large number to the east and north of Europe, can be linked to the organized massacre of Imperial Russian and the gas chambers of Auschwitz (Zapotoczny, W.S. 2006). In the years before the Black Death 1346-1353 there was a period of poor weather conditions and that in turn caused poor crop yields, and the peasants and serfs who worked these fields were already in poor health, which most likely made them an easy target of the Black Death (Cantor, 1984, p. 75). The workers who had no money or land suffered tremendously under the Black Death, they did not have the opportunity to take advantage of the social dislocation caused by the numerous deaths in the upper-class. Instead, the poorer peasants sank further into dependency and misery (Cantor, 1984, p.91). For centuries before the Black Death plague swept across Europe, society had been dominated by the feudal system. The upper class Lords owned land which had been in their families for generations, and they allowed serfs (workers), to live on and farm their large estates under the condition that the serfs and their families were bound in service to a particular Lord and could not move from farm to farm. This system allowed land-owning families to inherit the family wealth while also making those born into serfdom to be serfs all their lives. When the Black Death swept across Europe, many of these land-owning families found themselves threatened by the death of several heirs at one time. If all the heirs of a land-owning family died and no one was left to inherit the land of the family, then that land would revert to the king or a distant relative would bribe the king in order to inherit the land (Cantor, 1948, p.128). While it was not common for entire families to go extinct, In any given year before the Black Death, one out of twenty families of the wealthy gentry and also the nobility experienced extinction in direct succession (Cantor, 1984, p. 128). The economic impact of the Black Death was not as large as the decline in population. The plague hit working-age people more than young and the aged. The large decreases in population and the labor force resulted in big changes in prices and in the terms of area trade. Real wages doubled in most countries and land became more abundant relative to labor. With higher incomes, changes in how the income was distributed as well as changes in the age structure, demands began to change from basic goods and necessities towards good with higher income capabilities. Demand for, and the prices of wheat went down, while the prices of meat, cheese

and barley stayed up, the latter due to the growing demand for beer, which one could take as a good sign for higher standards of living and dietary improvements. There was also a notable rise in raising sheep and cattle. Additionally there were similar changes in the makeup of manufactured goods and services. Luxury good, imported as well as domestic began to increase. (Pamuk, S. 2007 Dec.). A surplus of goods resulted in overspending; it was quickly followed by a shortage of goods and higher prices. A shortage of workers meant they were able to charge higher prices; the government tried to limit these fees to pre-plague rates (Snell, M., 2010). The Black Death effected society in other ways. The marriage rate rose sharply in part due to predatory men marrying rich orphans and widows; The birth rate also rose, though recurrences of the plague kept population levels reduced; There were notable increases in violence and debauchery; Upward mobility took place on a small scale (Snell, M., 2010). People treated each day as if it were their last; moral and sexual codes were broken, while the marriage market was revitalized by those who had lost partners in the plague (James. T., 2010). The Church was never the same after the Black Death. Many of the clergy were killed and their replacements were of a lesser quality, meaning less-educated priests were placed into jobs where more learned men had died. The failure of the clergy to help the suffering during the plague, combined with its obvious wealth and the incompetence of its priests, caused resentment among the people. Critics grew vocal, and the seeds of the Reformation were sown (Snell, M., 2010). The Black Death led to cynicism toward religious officials who could not keep their frequent promises of curing plague victims and banishing the disease. No one, the Church included, was able to cure or even explain the plague. In fact, most thought is spread somehow through air (Zapotoczny, W.S., 2006). After 1350 European culture turned very morbid. The mood was one of pessimism, the arts turned dark with a lot of representations of death. Sculptors and painters both began to portray the dead and the dying, as well as images of death and the grim reaper. Peoples attitudes towards music and art changed as they began to see the suffering and carnage around them. The Italian Poet, Giovanni Boccaccios Decameron, a group of young people fleeing the plague take refuge in a house outside of Florence where they keep each other entertained by telling colorful and irreverent stories. These stories are often seen as a rejection of traditional medieval values, Boccaccio himself was critical of those who abandoned relatives and friends in the face of the plague. (Zapotoczny, W.S., 2006). Like the artists of that time, Boccaccio continued to hold his traditional social and religious values. Boccaccio would have entered into holy orders, moved by repentance for the follies of his youth, had he not been dissuaded by Petrarch (Boccaccio, 2010). The primary impact of the Black Death on painting and sculpture was the willingness of the newly rich to invest in religious art for churches and chapels. These contributions were often made in gratitude for being spared the plague, or with the hope of preventing future infection (Zapotoczny, W.S., 2006). I never dreamed the game I played with my friends in elementary school called Ring around the Rosie was about the Bubonic Plague. Seemed innocent enough, but in fact it was a grim description of infection and mortality caused by the Black Death (Sanders, T.N., 2006). The

Black Death altered all aspects of European society. The lack of labor caused by the Black Death, the Feudal system that had previously dominated Europe collapsed. The economic impact of the plague was significant. Agricultural prices dropped precipitously, endangering the fortunes and power of the aristocrats, whose wealth and dominance were based on land. At the same time, because of the deaths of so many people, wages rose dramatically, giving laborers some chance of improving their own living conditions and status in life. The Black Death destroyed one quarter of the European population and was the most significant disease in history. Between 1348 and 1351, more than one million men, women, and children died in England. This was over one third of Englands population. The Black Death also brought about the modernization of medicine. Prior to the plague, doctors of medicine relied upon biblical cures. Towns and villages slowly began to implement sanitation procedures. As the plague eased off, people began to develop immunity to the plague and put into place procedures for limiting the spread of disease. A new economy was developed to replace the feudal system. Europe was on the brink of the Renaissance, a re-birth. By the seventeenth century the plague had lost much of its ferocity. Epidemics occurred more sporadically, and they did not seriously diminish human populations. Since the 1940s antibiotic drugs have brought the disease largely under control among human populations, although it survives in rodent communities through much of the world (Bentley, J.Z., 2008). Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are all thriving countries today. There were differences between the impact of the black plague within Western Europe and Eastern Asia. A difference would be that the Black Death had killed many more people in Western Europe than it killed in Eastern Asia. Even though the plague originated in Asia, Europe is where a majority of the deaths tool place. Europe had lost a third of its population throughout the entire population. This is probably because Eastern Asia was much more rural than Europe. The rural areas have a lower population density, which makes it harder for the plague to spread throughout the area (cited in webmaster 2011).

References:

Bentley, J. Z. (2008). Traditions and EncountersL A Brief Global History. New York: McGrawHill Companies, Inc. Boccaccio, Giovanni, Retrieved from the World Wide Web, March 18, 2012 http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/boccaccio.html Cantor, N.F., In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made, New York, Free Press, 2001). Proquest Central, Research Library. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from Sanders, T. N. (2006). Encounters in World History. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Chapter 14, p. 385. Zapotoczny, W.S. The Political and Social Consequences of the Black Death, 1349-1351. Webmaster (2011) The Black Death of 1348 to 1350 Retrieved Marchr 17, 2012, from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/black_death_of_1348_to_1350.htm http://www.deathreference.com/Bl-Ce/Black-Death.html