12/28/12
English 10B
The Black Plague In just three short years between 1347 and 1350 one in every four people in Europe died in one of the worst natural disasters in history, the Black Plague. By 1352 it would wipe out a third of Europe's population. Also known as the Black Death, the Black Plague started in China where infected rats passed the disease to fleas that quickly spread it to humans. It quickly killed the majority of victims it touched, usually within mere hours. What might have seemed at first like an epidemic quickly took on pandemic proportions. It was named the Black Plague because of large black boils that would form at the site of glands. However, there were actually three different types of plague: bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic. Bubonic plague was the most common, spread by fleas and rodents. Lymph nodes would swell in the armpits, neck and groin, to the size of an egg or apple, and would turn black from sub dermal bleeding. Flu-like symptoms included nausea, vomiting, headaches, aching and high fever, but often people died with no other symptoms but swollen glands. The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. The people who gathered on the docks to greet the ships were met with a horrifying surprise. Most of the sailors on the ships were dead and those who were alive were very ill. Those sailors who were still alive had a fever and were delirious from pain. They were also covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus thus why their sickness was named the Black Death. The Sicilian authorities had ordered the ships to get out of the harbors but it was already too late. Over the next five years the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe which is almost one third of the continent’s population. The most popular theory of how the plague ended is through the implementation of quarantines. This meant staying out of the path of infected individuals, rats, and fleas. The uninfected would typically remain in their homes and only leave when it was necessary. Those who had money would traditionally escape to the country, far away from the Black Death infested cities, and live in the comfort of a lavish estate. In cases where infected persons were sharing living quarters with healthy persons, the entire household was quarantined together and those who weren’t infected would also die.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
If you think Ebola is bad, you obviously haven’t heard about The Black Death. The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was a fatal disease that spread from China in 1348 to the rest of Europe. During those years of the pestilence, between 25-50% of Europe’s population was killed. The Black Death was a very deadly disease that infected everybody it came in contact with and caused farmers to flee. Due to many failed attempts to cure the disease, the people of Europe shifted their focus from religion to medicine.…
- 808 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
How did the black death altar europe? The Black Death was a terrible plague that spread through Africa, China and Europe killing many people. The boats carried infected rats and the streets seemed like paradise when they climb down from the boats. The Black Death stayed in Europe from 1347-1350 but the Plague didn't stop there, it returned again in 1361, 1374 and 1388.…
- 176 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The Bubonic Plague started in Europe in the fourteenth century. The plague had wiped out nearly one third of the population and did not single anyone out, regardless of age, gender, or religion. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Bubonic Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. The Bubonic Plague was an infectious disease spread by fleas living on rats which would attached themselves to travelers to be later spread to a city or region. During the Bubonic Plague there were also many different beliefs and concerns, which include fear, religious and supernatural superstition, and a change of response from the fifteenth to eighteen century.…
- 569 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The “Black Death” was one of the most diseases in the world, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people, in total, the plague may have reduced the world population. This disease spread around northern and southern Europe. From there, it was carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats and insert into passenger’s DNA on merchant ships. On October 1347, the Black Death arrived in Europe when twelve trading ships docked Sicilian port after a sealing across the Black Sea, later, the sailors aboard the ship dead or very ill. This is how the Black Death was created that lead estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europe's total population. The Black Death killed more Europeans than any other, even wars at the time,…
- 146 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Around 1339 in northwestern Europe, the population was beginning to outgrow the food supply and a severe economic crisis began to take place. The winters were extremely cold and the summers were dry. Due to this extreme weather, very low crops yielded and those that grew were dying. Inflation became a common occurrence and as famine broke out, people began to worry. The time period of approximately 1339 to 1346 is now known as the famine before the plague (history). These seven bad years of weather and famine lead to the greatest plague of all times. In 1347, endemic to Asia, The Black Death began spreading throughout Western Europe. Over the time of three years, the plague killed one third of the population in Europe with roughly twenty five million people dead (bbc.co). The Black Death killed more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, greatly impacting the Church, family life, and the economy. These three social pillars were changed forever.…
- 1720 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
First, the Black Plague began by spreading from Asia through Europe in the 14th Century. The disease probably began in Sicily. It affected Europe between 1346-1353. One-third of the people of Europe died in 3 years, over 20 million. The disease spread by insect…
- 459 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Black Death also known as the Bubonic Plague and many other names, devastated European society by affecting its economy, social structure, government, and church in a series of outbreaks taking place years apart for over 300 years. When the Black Death began to surface for the first time people panicked and believed in supernatural reasons that had caused the plague but during the course of time different groups of people such as the state or government, the middle class, and the church either began to have a different attitude towards the plague like a rational or selfish point of view or they kept believing in supernatural beings that caused the plague.…
- 3206 Words
- 13 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The Black Death or the bubonic plague was one of the most deadly disease of our time. The Black Death took place between 1348 and 1351. It killed about one third to one half of the population in Europe. It only liked warm weather; therefore it would die out in the winter, but come back strong in the summer. When it would infect a victim it would only take a matter of days to kill him or her. The Black Death would kill so many people so fast that they would dig big pits and put all the dead in a hole in the ground, cover them with some dirt, and then bless them. (Ole J. Benedictow) They would put a little thin layer of dirt in between the layers of people. The Black Death would not have been as destructive if people didn’t try to flee from the…
- 1166 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Brian Toh Mr. Smith English 2 Honors 13 October 2014 Shrew Search 1. Black Death Summary: The Black Death, or the Bubonic Plague, surfaced in Europe in the 1300s and persisted into the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries during the Elizabethan era when Shakespeare lived. The plague was the most devastating disease in that era, killing more than 20 million people, or almost one-third of Europe’s population.…
- 2237 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays -
The Black Death was one of the deadliest and most impactful events that the world has ever witnessed. It is believed that the plague originated in Asia and it began to spread to other parts of the world around 1345 to 1346 when the plague struck water for the first time. Supposedly, this happened when Yanibeg, a khan of the Golden Horde, which was a part of the Mongol Empire, began catapulting the bodies of plague victims over its walls into the Black Sea. Once the plague hit the Black Sea, there was no hope of stopping it from its inevitable onslaught. The Genoese and Mediterranean coastline now laid open to an attack from the disease. The Black Death began to spread all over the world, but it did most of its damage throughout Europe. By the end of the fourteenth century, Europe had lost nearly half of its total population that it contained prior to the plague. However, the plague brought more consequences than just widespread death. The economy and social structure of Europe would…
- 1328 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
The Black death was a murderous plague that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351. How this happened? Well, traders from central and eastern Europe brought rats that were transporting a disease. They transported these rats by ship.…
- 348 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The black death had a huge effect on Europe. The black death is also known as the bubonic plague. If people are near the plague for within 3 to 7 days of exposure to plague bacteria they will eventually get sick. Usually when you get the black death plague It starts from getting bit by an infected flea the once you get bit by the infected flea you end up spreading it by someone touching an open cut or any fluids from your body.…
- 369 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Black Plague is best known for taking the lives of about half of europe during the middle ages. It seemingly come out of nowhere, killed thousands, then went off and on for several more centuries. Many know of the plague but do not about it, what caused it, or what were the effects on the people from this killing disease.…
- 484 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The black plague: The black plague also known as the black death started in the years 1346-1353 leading in the deaths of 75 to 200 million deaths, almost a third of the population. The black plague is also known as the black death because, of the dark patches on the skin caused by subcutaneous bleeding. The black plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. A deadly epidemic known as the Sixth-Century Plague or Justinian's plague struck Constantinople and parts of southern Europe 800 years earlier. The Black Death returned several times throughout the rest of the century. (mid 14 century)…
- 267 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The main causes of the black death all typically tie up to poor hygiene, as the black death was an infection related to bacteria. The most common way to catch the black plague was to receive it from being in physical contact with an infected flea that carried the plague. Another way would be being in contact with the body of an infected person. If the flea’s was finished with it’s victim it would leap of it onto the closest person. In a matter of 7 years (1946-53) an average of 60% of Europe had been infected from these causes.…
- 100 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays