Black Plague Dbq Essay

The bubonic plague, once hitting Europe, resulted in the death of 25 million people. Outbreaks during this catastrophe resulted in medieval society falling apart, for instance, the spread of this disease, the efforts to terminate it, and the reactions from foreign nations as well as Europe’s citizens, generated the shortage of labor all over Europe, as well as demands for higher wages, which were never agreed to, and the loss of faith, when people desperately prayed for salvation, with no answer. The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea, passengers on the Genoese trading ships were greatly infected, and their short arrival paved the way for the death of two thirds of the European population throughout the next five years. The plague and …show more content…
But, since only the rich were able to escape, death was practically directed towards the poor (Doc 3). Those who fled usually received no success since the plague spread all throughout Europe, therefore the Black Death was unavoidable. Even the most common of places like schools were becoming infected after the death of 20 schoolboys drove many other children away (Doc 1). This kept the school completely out of business because the sole fear of contracting the plague kept civilians from going outside, let alone attending school. According to a French physician, those infected looked half dead, and venom should within a few days draw out the poison of the disease (Doc 9). Those infected showed symptoms of high fever, as well as extremely painful buboes, and were dead in less than 48 hours. A diary entry from Nehemiah Wallington shows her deep concerns by the rapid spread of the disease, she goes on to explain how she fears being alone once her family falls victim to the plague (Doc 8). During the time period, if one person in the household contracts the disease, the chances for the rest of the family members to be infected were extremely high. In a memoir from English traveler Sir John