Black Death: causes, impacts, and historical significance

¶ … Black Death

The plague, or the Black Death, was caused by fleas that were living on infected rats. (Chodorow 403) However, that is the simplified description of what caused the Black Death to spread across Europe. In reality, it is a little more complicated than that. There were conditions within Europe that made the country vulnerable to the Black Death. One condition that made the population more susceptible to disease was the fact that Europe was already overcrowded. Between the years 1000 and 1300, it is said that Europe's population doubled. More people meant a need for more food and more jobs and when these things did not happen fast enough, an economic depression ensued. With no food and little money, people could not take care of their health the way that was necessary. These conditions lead to worsening health for most of the population. As a result, when the rats were brought to shore from the ships at sea, many people did not have the immune defenses to fight the Black Death. Ships from Asia with infested rats entered Europe through Venice and Sicily. Within two years, it is said that about a "third of the population of Europe died" (403). Physicians simply had no expertise in this area and did not have a way to control the disease that was spread simply though sneezing. For some time, it was unclear what was causing the disease and theories circulated were that it was "in the atmosphere" (Craig 430) or perhaps fumes released from earthquakes. The infestation of the rats and the inability to find what caused the Black Death are the reasons why the plague occurred in Europe.

Every aspect of life and community was affected by the disease. One of the most significant economic consequences affected the feudal system in that "whole villages vanished in the wake of the plague" (Craig 430). As death struck every area of life that meant that there would less people to take care of every day business and an increased need for physicians. The labor supply decreased while wages for labor increased. Many serfs replaced their "labor services with money payments or abandoned the farm altogether for jobs in the cities" (430). The aristocrats were willing to take wealth at every opportunity with the decline of the feudal system. More and more the feudal system became a lose-lose situation, paving the way for reconstruction. With many positions in the community left open by the dead, opportunities arose for those less likely to otherwise move up in the community. In other words, those that were left behind could pick and choose what jobs they preferred.