According to Robert s. Gottfried The Black Death, “the black death was defined as a combination of bubonic, pneumonic, and septicaemic plague strains. It devastated the Western world from 1347 to 1351, killing 25%-50% of Europe’s population and causing or accelerating marked political, economic, social, and cultural changes. People were astounded, bewildered, and terrified.” (Gottfried Robert S., The Black Death; Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe, United State of America, 1985, print, Introduction. ) It is a great plague occurred in Europe in the middle ages and it was an unprecedented disaster in human history. The most important part from the Black Death is the bubonic plague, this plague comes from dead black rats and it will affect from rats to people. This devastating disease was started from the plains of central Asia, then, the plague from rats have spread in Silk Road; additionally, people and things that participated in the Silk Road were carried this plague into North Africa and Europe. From Gottfried and Spielvogel’s book, they accounts three main aspects to shows The Black Death drastically influenced medieval Europe, these three parts are European’s economy, population and their psychological.
First, The Black Death plays a significant role in the economics part, the disaster was leaded population quickly decreased in Europe. This phenomenon caused the depression across the land, no one have enough time to focus on the farm or to improve the productivity. Moreover, The Black Death also pushed serf system broken fast. People during thirteen century to fourteen century realized it is important to product more and more foods, they started work hard for themselves in order to gain a better life. Moreover, the open trade goes well to the rest of world from 1400 to 1600, like the book said, “it was a period of transition, in which northern Europe played an increasingly important commercial role, and in which the center of economic activity was sifting from the Mediterranean to the northwest.” In conclusion, The Black Death really change the economic strategy a lot during the medieval Europe.( Gottfried Robert S., The Black Death; Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe, United State of America, 1985, Print, Chapter 7, P144)
Second, The Black Death made famine and population parts were got a hard hit. “Some historians estimate that famine killed 10 percent of the European population in the first half of the fourteenth century.” (Spielvogel Jackson J. Western Civilization, Eight Edition, Volume I : To 1715, 2012, 2009, 2006 Wadsworth, Chapter 11, Famine and Population, P307.)Between 1347 to 1351, the plague across almost cities in Europe, it cover such as France, Spain, Germany and more, until 1351, the plague was disappeared in north Europe. The death happened frequently in the populated part and the urban area. On the other hand, famine causes the decrease in population, too. People ate limited food or sometimes they even kept hungry for a long time, in the other words, it meant that long period unhealthy diet has directly impact the population.
Third, plague attacked people’s psychological area. With the increasing number of mortality, People eventually shows their nature, it also represents the dark side of the human nature. It is hard to make a choice when People faced diseases and family or friendship. An example of the book which accounts that “one related the word of a child left behind: oh father, why have you abandoned me? ... Mother, where have you gone? ” (Spielvogel Jackson J. Western Civilization, Eight Edition, Volume I : To 1715, 2012, 2009, 2006 Wadsworth, Chapter 11, P308.)From the question he or her asked, it is not hard to define that, people in that time were very fear about death and fear to touch with any disease. For those parents who abandon their kids, this cruel behavior were totally broken all the normal human relation.
In conclusion, The Black Death made a numerous people suffer in the painful world. But it still was an unavoidable event for the whole word, the disaster bring the social evolution for the whole Europe. In my point of view, I think people’s psychological part from the Black Death have made a greater impact on society. Last but not least, The Black Death definitely had a great impact than a war or a person, because it caused a lots of effects on the human and the natural world.
Reference:
1. Gottfried Robert S., The Black Death; Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe, United State of America, 1985, print, Introduction.
2. Gottfried Robert S., The Black Death; Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe, United State of America, 1985, Print, Chapter 7, P144
3. Spielvogel Jackson J. Western Civilization, Eight Edition, Volume I : To 1715, 2012, 2009, 2006 Wadsworth, Chapter 11, Famine and Population, P307
4. Spielvogel Jackson J. Western Civilization, Eight Edition, Volume I : To 1715, 2012, 2009, 2006 Wadsworth, Chapter 11, P308
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