Positive Effects Of The Black Death

The Black Death, as it was most commonly called, was renowned as the most devastating pandemic to have even swept over the Eastern Hemisphere during the fourteenth century. It was the cause of over tens of millions of deaths throughout Europe and Asia and went by many names, including the “Great Mortality,” and “Universal Plague.” The widespread plague originated in Central Asia and was most likely variants of the bubonic and pneumonic plagues. The bubonic plague, which was the most common during the pandemic, was a case caused by the transmitted bacillus Yersinia pestis from its carriers—the rodents. It was transmitted to humans by fleas that fed off of carrier rats and mice. The plague spread to Europe when corpses infested with the plague …show more content…
Having killed over one-third of the affected populations, the plague spread to selected individuals. Mainly affecting weak individuals with a history of mental stress or elderly, the Black Death arose many questions surrounding the factors that affected frailty gene patterns. The Black Death was the most catastrophic epidemic to ever sweep over the Western Hemisphere during the fourteenth century, but the plague’s aftermath might have proved beneficial to the survival rate and natural selection of frailty level ratings.
The full extent of the Black Death’s geographical origins is still uncertain. The earliest recorded evidence of the plague’s presence dates back to the year 1346 in cities of the Kipchak Khanate of the Golden Hord. It lasted roughly seven years from its …show more content…
On examining deceased individuals from London’s East Smithfield Black Death cemetery, victims of the plague indicated that the pandemic targeted older adults and elders versus their younger counterparts. Upon further examination of markings on the skeletons of those who were subjected to physiological stressors, research also revealed that individuals already in poor health experienced increased risk of death by the bubonic plague. These physiological stressors often included short stature or porotic hyperostosis that left stress markings on the skeleton. Given its high death rate, it is generally assumed that the plague killed arbitrarily, but the research gives reason to believe the Black Death, like any other cause, was selective. The epidemic might have changed health and demographics in the survivors, affecting genetic variations. It could have represented an act of natural selection, weeding out the frail