Transcript the black death 2011 2

Europe in the late Middle Ages

10th -14th centuries
 Europe’s pop. increased by 300%.
 improvements in agriculture.
 mid-1300s, pop. of Europe over 75 million
The end of the world…

In October 1347, the disease made
first appearance in Europe.
 A fleet of ships making its way through the
Mediterranean Sea had on board very sick
sailors.
 When the sailors arrived, people noticed the
following things:
 Most of the sailors were dead, and those that were
alive looked as if they were about to die
 The sailors’ faces were contorted and bloated
 They had a purplish hue that colored their skin

Within a week, people began dropping dead by
the hundreds each day.
 Within six months, the disease (Black Death,
Black Plague, or Bubonic Plague) would claim
over half of the region’s population.
Spread of the Black Death


25-38 million dead
1/4-1/2 of the population died

1347-1351, between 25%-50% of Europe’s
population would be killed by the Black Death.

In many towns, the dead outnumbered the
living.

Bodies piled up in the streets faster than people
could bury them.
Social Impacts


People at the time did not know what caused
the plague
They thought
 Punishment by God for sins
 Caused by the Devil
 Jews poisoning town wells
 Leads to massacres of Jews
Economic Impacts

Trade declined
 Shortage of workers = rise in price of labor
 Decline in population
 Less demand for food
 Lower food prices

Peasants & serfs
 Peasants could leave manor & work for other lords that paid
more & could move to cities
 Serfs bargained with lords to pay rent rather than service
 Frees them from being bound to the land
The Spread of the Plague