Bubonic Plague In European Middle Ages

Epidemic diseases in the European middle ages were spread rapidly and caused catastrophic demographic decline. This was due to the living conditions, trade routes and densely populated cities were the core reasons that prompted the highly contagious diseases to spread of the diseases from its origin in the steppe lands of Turkestan, towards Europe and Africa. In contrast to Europe, societies in the near east and Africa were subjected to different experiences and effects related to the pandemic, including differing mortality rates, different ways of containing the contagion and different ideas of why the plague occurred in terms of religious and scientific perspectives.

An epidemic that caused the most damage to Europe and neighbouring countries was the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Plague and Black Death. According to Giovanni Boccaccio, the Black Plague was highly contagious and highly fatal, killing people in 3 days. C.R. Boxer mentions the transmission of the disease was airborne and was quickly contracted by individuals that were in the vicinity of a contaminated person. This plague was an extreme shock to Europe in terms of population decline, leading to the lack of labour and a sharp economic decline. The virus and the plague had caused a decline in …show more content…
The plague arrived towards the late Middle Ages, after urban living re-emerged, trading, overseas businesses and manufacturing innovation were at its peak. Consequentially, the Black Death led to an economic stagnant and was a significant factor in Europe’ entry into the Renaissance period. The resulting smaller agricultural labour pool from the shortage of people led to a higher wages and lower rents, moving everything in favour of the peasantry. The demand of high wages led to governments impending legislations that restricted the mobility of peasant workers and contain rising