Negative Effects Of The Renaissance

Superior Essays
The Renaissance was a period of time that lasted from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century in Europe. Before the Renaissance, the Bubonic Plague struck Europe. It was a depressing time for people as more of their loved ones were getting sick and dying every day. This disease led to an opening in science and medicine. The plague killed about twenty-five million people, but it did have a positive influence on the world since it improved medicine and medical technology.
The plague had a devastating impact on medieval towns and many Christians blamed Jews, the poor foreigners and travelers, for the spread of the plague (Feld 20). Christians tortured Jews into confessing that they were responsible for poisoning all water sources, and Jews were
…show more content…
During this time period many people traveled by boat, and rats were on the boats. This means that wherever the boat went, the rats and fleas went, then they spread through the different towns. People lived crowded together. Medieval towns had no running water, so people did not often bathe. Chamber pots, also used as toilets, were emptied into nearby streams and canals. Garbage was also tossed into streams, canals, and on the streets which contributed to the spread of germs. Most people who caught the plague died within days, and in some places whole communities were wiped out (Frey 53). Over the next two centuries, this terrifying disease killed millions in Europe (Frey 53). Dumping chamber pots and garbage, and not showering had a huge effect on the spread of the plague.
There were many medical advantages from the plague because as people were dying more, doctors became interested in finding the cure. Before the Renaissance, doctors had more faith in magic and religion, and most did not believe that science could help cure an illness (Finger). After the Black Death struck, more people started becoming interested in diseases and medicine, and
…show more content…
This gave a better chance for militaries to win the war. The smaller population also helped fishermen. Even though there were less people in a crew, there were also less people fishing, which allowed crews to catch more fish (Currie 77). This resulted in families and towns having more food. Lower population levels encouraged technological innovation as people learned to do more with less help (Currie 77). With less people living in medieval towns, life was easier for the people. Medical progress was spurred on because of the appearance in the fourteenth century of the Black Death or Bubonic plague, and in the fifteenth century because of Syphilis (Corrick 92-93). The deaths of so many people speeded changes in Europe’s economic and social structure so drastically that it contributed to the decline of Feudalism (Frey 57). After the plague, life was better for the people that lived in medieval

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Less than a few years after the torrential Black Plague ravaged through central Europe, one of the most influential, and significant time periods in history, The Renaissance, occurred. During this time there were spikes of interest in art, science, writing and poetry, and religion. While many of these interests were significant, the biggest changes were made in the aspects of religion, artistic and scientific, and poetic advancements. Many pioneers were recognized during the Renaissance. A few of the biggest influencers were Martin Luther, John Calvin, and King Henry VII.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Black Death Facts

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This great upsurge in bereavements brought many changes through the period 1348 to 1350. Aside from the social and economic calamity that was brought about by the plague, the biological aspects are equally frightening. ("41 Interesting Facts...")…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It is well known that there were several factors that aided to the decrease. One factor that was key to lower death rates during later epidemics was the increase in the quality of life. Heather Whipps of the Live Science Journal noted that, “Those who survived benefited from an extreme labor shortage, so serfs once tied to the land now had a choice of whom to work for. Lords had to make conditions better and more attractive or risk leaving their land untended, leading to wage increases across the board” (Whipps, 2008). Higher wages allowed for the once extremely poor serfs of Europe to better their lives in multiple ways.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pneumonic Plague Essay

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages

    These rats had been bitten by fleas which contain the bacteria Yersinia pestis. These infected rats then spread the disease to people. Sanitation was at an all-time low, as many people did not bathe or even have a basic concept of personal hygiene. This helped to spread the plague, as trash and bodies littered the streets, keeping the environment suitable for disease-bearing rats. Many European countries were hard hit with the plague.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Plague DBQ

    • 1569 Words
    • 7 Pages

    During the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries the spread of the plague struck society with a variety of responses throughout Europe. First, fear caused the fabric of society to crumble apart with the upper, middle, and lower classes to leave behind their regular activities and the rich to flee towards safety. Second, people of all classes began moving toward religion and the church as salvation from the plague. Third, theologians and physicians strived to find the causes of this wretched disease and to use their knowledge to treat others around them. But just as any other outbreak in the land the first instinct is to fear for the worst.…

    • 1569 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Black Plague Dbq Essay

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages

    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…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    They rigid structure of the feudal system was overthrown by the plague and the living standards of peasants were…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bubonic Plague Dbq

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The physicians at the time died or they would over price just to inspect the ill. People abandoned their families and let the die alone. (Source: Marchione di Coppo). Everyone accusing innocent people for the plague and even went as far as to burn down their homes (Source: Adapted from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1348-jewsblackdeath.html).…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some of the effects of mediaeval Europe on the black plague where change in the social structure, economy, religion and the country. The black plague killed about 60 percent of the population in mediaeval Europe. The black plague affected the way people thought and spend their money. One of the big problems during the black plague was inflation.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The economy was at its all-time low when the plague struck Europe. Europeans were dying which caused a production decrease and led to a decline in money for both workers and owners. Elizabeth Ellis and Anthony Esler, discuss the plague that occurred in the 1300s when the European economy sank to a horrible decline, how difficult goods were to make, the rise of goods were more costly than ever before, and how trade became horrible as well(Doc 4). Not only did these problems effect people but it effected the economy and price of goods. This wasn’t the only effect the black plague had on medieval Europe it was just one of the many effects.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On The Middle Ages

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Middle Ages began in 500 CE after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and ended in 1350 CE. People of this time lived in a feudal system. Their social hierarchy started at the bottom with peasants, then knights, then nobles, then the king. These people were very religious and dedicated to the Catholic church. The rise of education and universities is what kept this period from being completely dark.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Essay On The Black Plague

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During the 14th century, around 75 to 200 million people died because of the disease known as the Black Plague. These numbers show that around a third of Europe’s population was completely wiped out. Many terrible changes occurred including the rich and the poor going against each other, blaming one another for causing this horrific disease. The Black Plague was the worst epidemic that has ever been recorded in the world’s history because of the disease’s ability to spread rapidly, the terrible process of infection, and as well as the long term effects that it had on Europe.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Impact Of The Renaissance

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Did the Renaissance Change Man’s View of the World? The time period from the 1350s to about 1700 otherwise known as the Renaissance was the rebirth and awakening for new ideas and inventions. With the different advances that were made, people became more educated and ignorance about the world and nature was no longer the norm for the average person. A majority of the population was no longer illiterate people became curious and started to ask question, unlike during the Middle Ages.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The wealthy were able to flee easier, leaving the less fortunate to survive for themselves. According to Zahler, “Children abandoned the father, husband abandoned the wife, wife the husband, one brother the other, one sister the other…. Some fled to villas, others to villages in order to get a change in air. Where there had been no plague, there they carried it; if it was already there, they caused it to increase” (Zahler 45). Another way the plague affected the people and places during the Middle Ages was through schools and education.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Before the Plague, due to the overpopulation, the feudal system was very strong, while the peasants worked in very harsh conditions for low pay. After the outbreak of the disease, workers started to demand better working conditions, and better pay which weakened the feudal system which also raised the standard of living of the poor. According to archaeological findings, before the Plague, peasants relied on clay pots for cooking, yet after the epidemic there is evidence of usage of metal cookware (Gunnel p1). In England, the wages rose from 20 to 40 percent over a 20 year period after the pandemic, giving the peasants more power (Routt p1).There was no authority to control the rest of the population during the Plague and so the poor, sensing the freedom, disobeyed the laws set by the government. After the Black Death, the authorities of many European countries, afraid of losing power, started to pass laws to control the poor.…

    • 2118 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics