Don’t forget the heading!
Bailey Brewer
Mr. Bitto Per 3
H Brit Lit
10/30/16
The Black Death and Business
The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, became the largest epidemic to ever arrive in Europe. The disease appeared to arrive suddenly, causing much chaos and many casualties during the middle ages. This epidemic arrived in Europe in the year 1346 and affected the continent socially and economically. Over half of Europe 's population died from the disease. In less than four years, more than 50 million people became victims from the disease. The population dropped from 80 million to 30 million. (James) All these casualties caused a shift in the social scale and workforce. Overall, the bubonic plague had a major effect on Europe’s …show more content…
These bacteria strains lived in the digestive tracts of fleas, particularly human or rat fleas. While feeding inside the stomach, the flea regurgitates Y. Pestis bacilli into the victim (Gottfried 6). The more common name, the Black Death, came along because of the black patches that would appear on the skin once a person contracted the disease. Black boils also appeared on the skin and secreted blood and pus. It was also believed to be called that due to the black rats that started the plague. The plague supposedly originated from the Gobi Desert in central Asia in the 1320s. The plague is believed to have begun during these times due to ecological changes. These changes drove the rats out of their dwellings and closer to human settlement. (Nardo 19) During the fourteenth century, there was a large amount of natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding, and famine. These disturbances destroyed shelters for rodents and food supplies which forced the rodents out of their habitat and into contact with human settlements. (Nardo 22) The disease began to spread in all directions, starting with Italy and eventually spreading to all regions in Europe. The disease spread from China through the major trade routes connecting to different nations. It began spreading through the trade routes from China to the Middle East. There were three major trade routes in the fourteenth …show more content…
Along with people, the disease also affected, sheep, cows, goats, pigs and chicken. Before the black death invaded Europe, harvests were at a high due to warm weather. The climate change allowed commerce and trade to rapidly grow. (Corzine 14) The greatest lost was the amount of sheep that died throughout England. It was reported that in just one field, there was a loss of five-thousand sheep. (Corzine 46) The loss of the sheep was a great hardship for Europe, since wool was one of its most important exports. During the time of the black death, labor productivity decreased quite dramatically. The black death was caused by rodents, who fed on grains. This caused a problem for farmers growing grain and for grain-eating populations. There was a change in the types of crops sown once the plague hit. There was a decrease of the amount of wheats and oats being planted, and an increase in vetches and barely (Gottfried 61). Since there was less people to feed, the reduced agriculture was not a huge problem. The problem was that the plague affected different regions and the rate of farmers dropping dead was above the rate in towns (Currie 69). Due to the lack of food since agriculture was scarcely grown, many citizens became poorly nourished. The malnourished became targets of the disease. Although the plague did kill many healthy people, the less healthy were more likely to
Bailey Brewer
Mr. Bitto Per 3
H Brit Lit
10/30/16
The Black Death and Business
The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, became the largest epidemic to ever arrive in Europe. The disease appeared to arrive suddenly, causing much chaos and many casualties during the middle ages. This epidemic arrived in Europe in the year 1346 and affected the continent socially and economically. Over half of Europe 's population died from the disease. In less than four years, more than 50 million people became victims from the disease. The population dropped from 80 million to 30 million. (James) All these casualties caused a shift in the social scale and workforce. Overall, the bubonic plague had a major effect on Europe’s …show more content…
These bacteria strains lived in the digestive tracts of fleas, particularly human or rat fleas. While feeding inside the stomach, the flea regurgitates Y. Pestis bacilli into the victim (Gottfried 6). The more common name, the Black Death, came along because of the black patches that would appear on the skin once a person contracted the disease. Black boils also appeared on the skin and secreted blood and pus. It was also believed to be called that due to the black rats that started the plague. The plague supposedly originated from the Gobi Desert in central Asia in the 1320s. The plague is believed to have begun during these times due to ecological changes. These changes drove the rats out of their dwellings and closer to human settlement. (Nardo 19) During the fourteenth century, there was a large amount of natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding, and famine. These disturbances destroyed shelters for rodents and food supplies which forced the rodents out of their habitat and into contact with human settlements. (Nardo 22) The disease began to spread in all directions, starting with Italy and eventually spreading to all regions in Europe. The disease spread from China through the major trade routes connecting to different nations. It began spreading through the trade routes from China to the Middle East. There were three major trade routes in the fourteenth …show more content…
Along with people, the disease also affected, sheep, cows, goats, pigs and chicken. Before the black death invaded Europe, harvests were at a high due to warm weather. The climate change allowed commerce and trade to rapidly grow. (Corzine 14) The greatest lost was the amount of sheep that died throughout England. It was reported that in just one field, there was a loss of five-thousand sheep. (Corzine 46) The loss of the sheep was a great hardship for Europe, since wool was one of its most important exports. During the time of the black death, labor productivity decreased quite dramatically. The black death was caused by rodents, who fed on grains. This caused a problem for farmers growing grain and for grain-eating populations. There was a change in the types of crops sown once the plague hit. There was a decrease of the amount of wheats and oats being planted, and an increase in vetches and barely (Gottfried 61). Since there was less people to feed, the reduced agriculture was not a huge problem. The problem was that the plague affected different regions and the rate of farmers dropping dead was above the rate in towns (Currie 69). Due to the lack of food since agriculture was scarcely grown, many citizens became poorly nourished. The malnourished became targets of the disease. Although the plague did kill many healthy people, the less healthy were more likely to