Black Death?

Question

What happened during the Black Death?

Answer 1

The Black Death was an outbreak of bubonic plague that entered Melcombe Regis in 1348, and within a year had killed nearly half the population.

The Black Death, began with a minor outbreak of bubonic plague, medical term Yersinia Pestis, which started in the Gobi Dessert. It was transmitted throughout China and reached Europe when a Kipchak army, besieging a Crimean trading post, catapulted plague-infested corpses over the city walls. Plague spread throughout Europe, carried by fleas in the fur of rats, and eventually reached the Dorset coast on 24th June 1348.

Contagion carried quickly, and about two thirds of the population became infected. The morbidity rate was about 66%, i.e. if you caught it, you had a two to one chance of dying. Chroniclers relate how the disease raged in a town for about a month and then left. It moved gradually northwards until it had burnt itself out. Within twelve months, nearly half the population was dead.

After the problem of burying the dead in plague pits was over, people tried to get back to normality. But life was never the same again. The decreased population meant a shortage of labour and workmen demanded and received pay increases. The government of Edward III tried to cap pay increases by an Act of Parliament, The Statute of Labourers, the first government attempt to control the economy. Workmen who demanded too much were placed in the stocks, that is trapped in a wooden gadget for a day, and employers who paid over the odds were fined. The Act was largely unsuccessful as employers coaxed workers from other employers, with promises abundant pay increases, and wages kept on rising. One recorded case shows that a joiner who built the stocks for the punishment of greedy workers was paid three times the legal rate for his labour.

The government also passed The Sumptuary Act of 1367, making it illegal for the lower classes to spend their new wealth on new apparel of ermine or silk. Only the aristocracy and some senior gentlefolk were allowed to wear these items. Today when barristers are raised to the rank of Queen’s Council, they are said to ‘take silk’, indicating their elevation in status. The Act has never been repealed, so if you wear silk, and if any of Edward III’s commissioners are still alive, you could get put in the stocks!

By the reign of Richard II, the economy had settled down and landowners switched from labour intensive methods, grain production, to low labour processes, particularly sheep farming. Increased wool production boosted the economy and became the nation’s chief export, making England a major economic power.

Answer 2

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a devastating pandemic that first struck Europe in the mid-late-14th century (1347–1351), killing between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. Almost simultaneous epidemics occurred across large portions of Asia and the Middle East during the same period, indicating that the European outbreak was actually part of a multi-regional pandemic. Including Middle Eastern lands, India and China, the Black Death killed at least 75 million people. The same disease is thought to have returned to Europe every generation with varying degrees of intensity and fatality until the 1700s. Notable later outbreaks include the Italian Plague of 1629-1631, the Great Plague of London (1665–1666), the Great Plague of Vienna (1679), the Great Plague of Marseilles in 1720–1722 and the 1771 plague in Moscow. There is some controversy over the identity of the disease, but in its virulent form the disease appears to have disappeared from Europe in the 18th century. Bubonic plague survives in other parts of the world (Central and Oriental Africa, Madagascar, Asia, some parts of South America) and was responsible for a pandemic in the early 20th century.[citation needed]

The Black Death had a drastic effect on Europe's population, irrevocably changing Europe's social structure. It was a serious blow to the Roman Catholic Church, Europe's predominant religious institution at the time, and resulted in widespread persecution of minorities such as Jews, Muslims, foreigners, beggars and lepers. The uncertainty of daily survival created a general mood of morbidity influencing people to live for the moment, as illustrated by Giovanni Boccaccio in The Decameron (1353).

The initial fourteenth-century European event was called the "Great Mortality" by contemporary writers and, with later outbreaks, became known as the 'Black Death'. It has been popularly thought that the name came from a striking symptom of the disease, called acral necrosis, in which sufferers' skin would blacken due to subdermal haemorrhages. However, the term refers in fact to the figurative sense of "black" (glum, lugubrious or dreadful).[1] Historical records have convinced most scientists that the Black Death was an outbreak of bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and spread by fleas with the help of animals like the black rat (Rattus rattus), however, there are some scientists who question this.[2]

Answer 3

I think, now that could be my first mistake, but, in England when they didnt have good sanitation, the rats came, and I think it is connected to the black plague, lets see, here is what I found.... The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the most deadly pandemics in human history, widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis.[1] It probably began in Central Asia[2] and spread to Europe by the late 1340s. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 75 million people; there were as many as 50 million deaths in Europe.[3][4] The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population.[5][6][7] The same disease is thought to have returned to Europe every generation with varying virulence and mortalities until the 1700s.[8] During this period, more than 100 plague epidemics swept across Europe.[9] On its return in 1603, the plague killed 38,000 Londoners.[10] Other notable 17th century outbreaks were the Italian Plague of 1629-1631, the Great Plague of Seville (1647-1652), the Great Plague of London (1665–1666),[11] the Great Plague of Vienna (1679). There is some controversy over the identity of the disease, but in its virulent form, after the Great Plague of Marseille in 1720–1722[12] and the 1771 plague in Moscow it seems to have disappeared from Europe in the 19th century. type in black death and check out the wiki on it.

Answer 4

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a devastating pandemic that first struck Europe in the mid-late-14th century (1347–1351), killing between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. Almost simultaneous epidemics occurred across large portions of Asia and the Middle East during the same period, indicating that the European outbreak was actually part of a multi-regional pandemic. Including Middle Eastern lands, India and China, the Black Death killed at least 75 million people.

Here's the rest of the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

Good luck!

Answer 5

As a result of the high death rate, in many parishes it was difficult to sustain what had previously been a normal level of existence. As things settled down after the disaster ( as it was in many places) many who had previously been tied to one particular parish by traditional feudalism, realised that their personal skills were now a scarce commodity , and felt confident enough to move away to , effectively, where the money and opportunities were better. In the circumstances, thier feudal superiors were in in position to do anything about it. Some sank even deeper into problems than they would have had they stayed where they were, but others found themselves in the right place at the right time and did very well for themselves.

Answer 6

The Black death was a plague that wiped out most of Europe's population. The people thought that this disease was passed on by the air but it was actually passed on through the rats. People would grow these big black wart looking things on their bodies and eventually die.

Answer 7

Alot of Europe was killed, usually put between 1/3 and 1/2. The Plague, and not just Bubonic and I believe there was another one spreading with it, was spread mostly by rats. This is because they had killed most of the cats, which would have killed the rats and mice, because they were assocciated with witches and the Devil. It was also spread my the sheer mass of death. They were running out of places to bury people and few healthy people so bodies would simply lay out in the streets. They also would burn the dead by teh end.

Answer 8

As you have already seen from the previous answers, 1/3 of European population was killed due to the Bubonic Plague.
A disease that was carried by a rat infestation and furthered by lack of hygiene and fresh water.

Ring Around The Rosie is a medieval children's nursery rhyme that gives voice to the epidemic.

Answer 9

the bubonic plague was spread mostly by rats and poor hygeine and wiped out a huge portion of the population of the world.

Answer 10

Europe lost most of it's population.