Bubonic+Plague

The Bubonic Plague pandemic during 1348 to 1350 in Europe was also known as the Black Death. The disease spread swiftly and easily throughout the unprepared eastern hemisphere. Many attacks ravaged Europe, Asia, and Africa, each leaving a lasting mark on society and the economy.

1 Causes 2 Symptoms 3 Spread 4 Effects > 4.1 In Society > 4.2 In Economy > 4.3 In the Church 5 References ||
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Causes
The Black Death is the first recorded incidence of the bubonic plague, which is caused by a bacteria called //Yersinia pestis.// The bacteria can be spread through infected parasites carried on animals, such as rodents. Contrary to common misconception, the bacillus was carried throughout the world by fleas living on the Black rat. The rat alone did not spread the disease. These animals were able to survive and over-breed in Medieval Europe, as they were sheltered and nurtured by the garbage and sewage paving the streets. At the time, people at large refrained from bathing, allowing fleas invested with the plague to hop between people already carrying thousands of fleas and lice. Most people caught with the plague died after extreme confused panic. Doctors either lacked the right materials to cure the infected or weren't educated enough to recognize the disease, leaving Medieval Europeans with no hope of survival.

Symptoms
The Black Death acquired its name because of the dark purplish or blackish spots that would marr the skin of the sick. Those infected with the plague experienced various symptoms based the specific form of the disease they carried. The most common and bubonic form left its victims with lymph nodes around their groin, neck and armpits. These tumors came in many sizes and signaled about a week of life left to the carrier should the lumps greatly spread. The second variant of plague was pneumonic in attacking the respiratory system. It spread through the air and left its victims with little more than two days to live. The last form of the disease negatively affected the blood system.

Spread
The plague erupted in Asia and was likely carried by Mongols invading China in their unclean food supplies. The disease spread to all parts of southern Asia and later north Africa, following merchants traveling on common Chinese trade routes. As Mongols attacked the city of Kaffa near the Black Sea in 1345-46, they again led the plague to infect new victims. Later in 1447, a group of Italian merchants living in Kaffia fled to their homeland of Sicily and led the disease to Europe. Through Italy, the plague traveled with the growing trade industry and reached as far north as England and Scandinavia after attacking France, Germany and other parts of Europe. The bubonic plague was able to take the lives of around four million people in Southwest Asia, twenty-five million Europeans and thirty-five million Chinese through Mongol invasions and trade between lands alone. However, the filth and close quarters of Medieval Europe helped the plague to thrive and survive. Only 25-50% of Europe's inhabitants would survive the living nightmare.

In Society
The collapse of society in the Middle Ages was understandably accelerated due to the destructive effects of the bubonic plague. The Black Death had a staggering death toll of almost 25 million in Europe alone-- a third of its population. Many more died in north Africa and south Asia. During the spread of the plague, some people believed they could avoid it by isolating themselves from others and living on just the bare minimum. Others took the plague to be a sign and buried themselves in luxury and decadence, living what little life they might have had left to its fullest. Either way, laws and figures of authority no longer existed, as everyone was too concerned with their own survival. Society fell apart as each man took their own path. Many simply abandoned civilization in an attempt to outrun the plague. Manor systems deteriorated as residents left. As the selfish nature of people surfaced, living conditions were left to regress. Cities were filthy with lice and other parasites, and those who remained often became victims of diseases related to poor hygiene, if not the Black Death itself. In most cities, the streets were literally lined with dead bodies waiting to be taken to mass burials.

Social and racial groups such as Jews, lepers, and outsiders were often persecuted based on suspicion of carrying the plague. After the main threat of plague passed, these people still faced discrimination and European society struggled to rebuild itself to its former order.

of Giovanni Boccaccio's //The Decameron.// ||
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 * = Reading of an excerpt from the introduction

In Economy
In every community, populations were cut down. Fewer workers resulted in rising prices and shortages in manufactured goods. Money and people were scarce, and many serfs left manors in pursuit of more stable jobs and higher wages. Peasant rebellions were commonplace as well, since lords could not afford to meet the demand for better living conditions. Though conditions were horrendous, peasants saw an increase in opportunities and social mobility. The sheer amount of deaths allowed wealth to flow swiftly to the survivors, most of whom were peasants who worked for pay. Trade was quick to decline as well. Dozens of trade cities were struck down by the bubonic plague, wiping out more than half of their populations. Survivors hastened to snap up jobs and to demand better pay from employers who had little other choice but to acquiesce. The limited population also resulted in curbed opportunities for business expansion. Merchants began seeking other interests such as art, a passion that would later lead to the Italian Renaissance.

In the Church
Monasteries and priests experienced a heavy death toll, as they were the primary carers of the plague's victims. They could not heal or stop the plague through prayer, however, and lost a great amount of influence and status through this failure. Furthermore, many members of the clergy abandoned their positions or became corrupt, charging high fees to perform services for the dying. Old religious morals weakened as survivors became preoccupied with either self-indulgence or the control death had over them. Some even sought to please the devil in order to avoid or celebrate death. Many bowed to death in awe, moving from worshiping God to admiring the universality of death and its power.