was the black death caused by a climate change?

Answer 1

Completely unknowable. There's nowhere near enough scientific evidence to decide. People can speculate, but that's all that is happening.

Answer 2

Yes it was. Global cooling is far worse than anything warming can do.

"The sudden deterioration of the climate in the late Middle Ages following the decline in solar magnetism was devastating to pre-industrial Europe and is a tragic story of the environmental and human costs of cold global temperatures and the lack of technology to cope with the cold. For example, frequent shortened growing seasons of the 14th century produced severe famines and deaths from starvation and disease. Cannibalism was reported even in Western Europe. The life expectancy decreased by 10 years, from about 48 to 38 years.

And of course, climate scientist Hubert Lamb has noted that it's probably not a coincidence, but part of a series of events, linking a disastrous flood in China in 1331 and 1332, which killed 7 million people and has to be the worst weather disaster in history, and that is linked to subsequent epidemics of the bubonic plague both in China and Europe. And during the cold in Europe and China in the 14th century, the population was cut in half between bubonic plague and war.

Storminess increased in these cold intervals as well, and the climate history suggests that times of global cooling, not warming, are greater calamities. Storms back in the 17th century Little Ice Age were about three times more disastrous than floods in the 20th century.

The point is that climate change is a natural feature of the earth's environment and has done so in the past and will continue in the future to have a great impact on humankind. The maximum amount of warming expected by correcting the exaggerated computer forecasts is a few tenths of a degree Centigrade. Spread over a century, that change will be insignificant compared to natural swings in the climate."

Answer 3

caused by the rats. u see, dead littered the streets everywhere. Cattle and livestock roamed the country unattended. Brother deserted brother. The Black Death was one of the worst natural disasters in history. In 1347 A.D., a great plague swept over Europe and ravaged cities causing widespread hysteria and death. One third of the population of Europe died. "The impact upon the future of England was greater than upon any other European country." (Cartwright, 1991) The primary culprits in transmitting this disease were Oriental Rat Fleas carried on the back of black rats. an interesting fact is if everyone had washed their hands alot, nobody would hav died!

Answer 4

I caught that on the History Channel. Its long been established that BD was caused by an overabundance of rats which carried a particular flea which in turn carried the bacteria or germ that causes BD. The explanation offered is that a mini Ice Age of presumably natural cause affected the ability to grow certain crops and or livestock throughout the civilized world and rats were I believe led to become more aggresive in their search for food.

And in a sidebar, BD was an inspiration behind the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin who contracted with city fathers to take away all the rats from the hamlet of Hamelin and ended up taking away all the children. The modern day Pied Piper of Nashville is currently in the process of carrying on the same tradition, having been recently given a boost with the award of a Nobel Prize.

Answer 5

It was caused by the deplorable sanitary conditions of the time People defecated anywhere, threw their garbage out the window into the street, thought baths were unhealthy. This resulted in an increase in the rat population which in turn increased the fleas on rats. It was the fleas that carried the plague.

Answer 6

Bad environmental conditions caused the plague. It should be a reminder that we live in a bad environment that could kick up some new epiademic. It is a shame so much polution and its all wasted raw material.

Answer 7

partially the mini ice age destroyed crops so people were starving with a weakened immune system. coupled with deplorable hygiene, fleas on rats to quickly spread the disease to all parts via boats and trade, BD killed around 64 million in Europe and north Africa in around 50 years.

Answer 8

in a word NO, it was caused by unsanitary living conditions, and totally inadequate methods of treatment and quarantine, for example, people got hysterical and wiped out all the dogs they could see, therefore a valuable rat catching asset was diminished, and as the plague was spread by the fleas from these rats, the problem ran out of all control

Answer 9

Indirectly maybe the actual culprits were ticks and fleas found on rats.

Answer 10

In looking for a way to explain it I found the site below that put it clearly.... Through out the history of humanity.. nature has been battling religions. WHY? Because nature's primary means of communication with life on earth is "spiritual" and as religions came to dominate spiritual information nature has been unable to be understood... The introduction of "science" from nature seemed to close that gap of misunderstanding, but the church has been quick to mislead and claim "responsibility" or knowledge, keeping control of the spin on spiritual aspects and information science leads to understanding nature but our history if full of the church persecuting people of science and twisting the information until it leads to dead ends.. including stoping science from getting the answers... Religions hold such a monopoly on "spiritual" understanding today that humans can not put the pieces of understanding together.... THE PURPOSE OF SPIRIT IS FOR NATURE TO COMMUNICATE WITH NATURE... WE ARE A PART OF THAT MIX AND GIVING RELIGIONS A MONOPOLY ON "SPIRITUAL" MATTERS IS DOING US ALL GREAT HARM. When religions fail in great natural disasters and they inevitably do... We should never stop questioning their undersanding or authority over us and the information... WE MUST CALL THEM LIARS... When we see science fail us we must seek out where religions are interfering in the process of understanding it... Whether it is illness or global warming... We must challenge religion, for spirit is nature's means of communicating with itself but also it's means of communicating with us... giving us the answers we need through science the means to co-operate with it..