Premium Essay

Causes Of The Black Death Plague

Submitted By
Words 416
Pages 2
Back in the 14th century many plagues have long before spread through Europe and were very drastic, but all of those plagues combined was even more fatal and horrendous, this mix was known as the Black Death. The year 1346 was the start of this horrible disease, but how did this all start and what really happened to many Europeans during that time?
The plague spread from Cairo to Paris, little was known about medicine and treatments for it. Since at the time, it seemed untreatable it spread like a wild fire. The cause of this was found in a bacterial strain that was found on stomach of fleas, which contributed the disease to rodents, especially the black rat. The flies go from host to host when the host dies, thus was making it possible for

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Black Death Herlihy Summary

...The Black Death was known as the most gruesome and deadliest plagues noted in history. The Black started October 1348 and killed 25 million people until 1350. This plague cleared out roughly 30 to 60 percent of the people in Europe. Like many researchers, historians, and scholars, Herlihy had his own person opinion on this questionable plague. Herlihy is the author of a very controversial book, The Black Death and Transformation of the West. This particular book was based on three essays Herlihy wrote about the Black Death, but they were never published. Herlihy discussed his viewpoint of the cause primary causes, medical issues, and his personal feelings of the Black Death. The first essay mainly focused on the epidemiology and medical issues during that time period that could’ve caused the Black plague. Herlihy started off by questioning if the Black Death should really be known as a plague. Many researches stated that the Black Death expanded due to rodents which caused these people to become ill and die. Due to the rodents causing...

Words: 1026 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Black Death

...Impact of Black Death HIS 103 World Civilizations Donnie Burnette April 4th 2011 The Impact of Black Death Black Death was known by several names such as Black Death, the Bubonic Plague and the Black plague. Regardless of what you call it, it was one of the world’s worst pandemic in history. This plague tore through Europe destroying villages and communities. The immediate impact was fear, chaos, and complete devastation, the long term effect proved to improve economics and societies. Black Death spread through Europe beginning in 1346 and ending in 1353. Seven years of “unexplained” deaths, the plague chose no race, color, age or gender it attacked and killed 50 million people or 60% of the population (Benedictou 2005). Symptoms of the plague began with swollen glands in the neck, armpits, and groin areas. Internal bleeding gave the skin a blackened coloring earning the name “Black Death”. Other symptoms range from red blotching of the skin “rosies” Once bitten these would appear within a couple days and the victim would die within a week. Even a more powerful strain of this plague was the pneumonic plague; this version went directly to the lungs and respiratory systems. Now not only was this spread...

Words: 982 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

What Are The Causes Of The Black Death

...The Black Death started in Europe on October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships arrived in Massina. Even though the “death ships” were soon ordered out of the harbor, it was too late. The plague would decimate Europe until 1351. The Black death killed between 75-200 million people in Eurasia, with over 20 million of those deaths occurring in Europe. Scholars believe that the nursery rhyme “Ring around the Rosy” was written about the symptoms of the Black Death. Most experts agree that the plague was caused by Yersinia. Pestis ( or Y. Pestis), a bacillus carried by fleas. Many people believed the plague was caused by god, by jews, by pockets of bad air released by earthquakes, or by an unfavorable alignment of the planets in 1343. Symptoms of the black death includes swelling in the groin, armpits, and neck, dark patches, and coughing up blood. A plague doctor costume consisted of a long overcoat with a bird like beak mask that was often filled with sweet or strong smelling substances. The pders in the mask were thought to fight the “evil” smells of the plague. The attempts to find curves for the plague started the momentum toward development of the scientific method and the changes in thinking....

Words: 437 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Pneumonic Plague: The Black Death

...The Black Plague The Black Plague was a pandemic, which reached England in June 1348-December 1349. It was later called “The Black Death” due to it killing around 50 million people. The Black Death has affected not only Europe, but other parts of the world killing many. Almost everyone feared the plague because it could possibly affect many of their lives, losing loved ones. New symbols and art were brought to the surface due to The Black Plague, such as plague doctors and even the famous song “Ring Around the Rosie”. Although there is a cure now it is still around today coming in many forms and types affecting people's daily lives. There are 3 major plagues the Justinian Plague, which was named after the 6th century Justinian emperor,...

Words: 1329 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Black Plague

...R. Glover Professor Schmitt English 2111-45 November 27, 2012 The Black Plague The Black Plague is a disease contracted from diseased animals, mostly by fleas, to human. The Black Plague then may be contracted by humans touching or breathing on one another. This disease is highly deadly and the bacterium that causes this disease is Yersinia Pestis. The Black Plague or as many call it “The Black Death” arrived in Europe by sea October 1347 when twelve Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after traveling through the Black Sea. Europe’s communities were devastated by the amount of suffering and death the disease brought to the people. The most common characteristic of the black plague is the black boils that appear all over the human body and then the boils bursts open with the blood oozing out black. The black blood that oozes out is why people call it the black plague. The symptoms of the disease can progress to other categories of the black plague which are: septicemia plague, pneumonic plague, and bubonic plague. The Sopticemic plague is the rarest deadliest bacterial infection caused by a bacterium called Yersinia Pertis. The plague begins to destroy the human body “when the bacterium enters the bloodstream through an open wound the person is known to be infected by plague. The bacterium multiplies in the blood and results in septicemic plague. This form of plague like the other types is capable of causing disseminated intravascular...

Words: 747 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Black Death

...The Black Death Ashford University World Civilizations I Todd HIS 103 February 21, 2012 The Black Death Another name for the Middle Ages is “The Dark ages” which was an era of inventors, discovery and trade. China’s ports were a renowned place for traders as many would travel around the world to trade goods. at the docks, thousands of people eagerly waiting for ships to return looking for goods from distant places. In October 1347, trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea (Black Death, n.d.). Greeters, who were waiting anxiously for goods discovered something horrific. Many sailors on the ships were dead and the rest who made it through the journey were quickly dying as well. Not only goods came back from China but also came flea-infested rats, which is the source of the bubonic plague. Another distinctive name for the plague was the Black Death; this particular plague had a discerning effect on the history of Europe producing a sequence of social, religious, and economic catastrophe. This plague killed over half of Europe’s people. Spreading all over Europe and Asia, the Black Death was spreading fast. Victims of the Black Death suffered fevers, weren’t able to digest their food, and became delirious because of the pain. Unknown black boils oozing blood and pus are where the plague got its name. The Black Death ravaged through cities that caused a widespread of hysteria and death. This was an epidemic...

Words: 1607 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Bubonic Plague Research Paper

...The Black Death is a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population (Black Death). This form of bubonic plague was very dangerous to the people in that specific time period. Bubonic plague is classified as a serious, sometimes fatal, infection with the bacterial toxin Yersinia pestis, transmitted by fleas from infected rodents (Bubonic Plague). Early in the 1340s, the disease had struck China, India, Persia, Syria and Egypt (History). China, India, and etc. were very crucial trading locations for Eastern Europe in the 1300s. Since the disease is carried by rodents, it is said that the disease got to Europe from the rodents that boarded the ships headed from Asia. The rodents had fleas which, in the ultimate ending, infected the humans. If the victim was not bitten by a flea, another way to obtain the disease was by being sneezed or coughed on by someone who was already infected. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The bubo would become inflamed and would at first be a deep red in color, but as...

Words: 744 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Black Plague

...The Black Plague “The Renaissance Death of England” Jayne Ritzinger GS102 – Introduction of Life Science September 2, 2009 The Black Plague in a Medieval Perspective “The Renaissance Death of England” The Sixteenth Century and Bubonic Plague The year is 1350 and death has travelled Western Asia and Europe for a decade. The death rate has exceeded 10 million due to the Black Plague, which is the curse of Europe (Bollinger, 1983). Travelling by boat and carriage, the Black Death has infected the known world from Constantinople to London. “The first attack, known since the late sixteenth century as the Black Death but to contemporaries as “the great mortality”, occurred in southern England in 1348; by the end of 1349 it had spread to Central Scotland” (Morgan, 1984). Rats and the lice that traveled on them were the common cause, but the Sixteenth Century had no such mechanism to identify the causation of the plague “Plague is characterized by periodic disease outbreaks in rodent populations, some of which have a high death rate. During these outbreaks, hungry infected fleas that have lost their normal hosts seek other sources of blood, thus escalating the increased risk to humans and other animals frequenting the area” (Plague, 2009). As defined by the Center for Disease Control, the Black Plague is defined as follows: Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by a bacterium named Yersinia Pestis. Epidemics of plague in humans usually involve house rats...

Words: 1817 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Black Death

...The Impact of the Black Death From the point of view of developing a pest and control methods, the manifestation of the plague in Europe historically known as "Black Death", “ fever " or "Bubonic plague" among other epithets, is a particular example of why a pest or plague can be developed and how can it be controlled. In this specific case, the plague is used to expand from the general conditions of a concrete reality, and disappears spontaneously when these conditions vary, these circumstances promoted behavioral changes to encourage changes in behavior and domestic actions of man, which in turn caused such a change of environment that disfavored the transcendence of the plague, which has its ultimate manifestation in the Old Continent nearly four hundred years after his arrival in Europe. Some people consider this event as the worst of the epidemics that affected man in its history. Although historically it has been established that the disease was bubonic plague acting with pneumonic and septicemic variants, some researchers attribute the high mortality registered to more than one disease, they base their statements and even in our times, by studying bones from graves that in which tradition is known to have been buried victims of the plague , in some cases there was no evidence of bubonic plague and its variants in one hand and in the other hand traces of other diseases such as Anthrax were found. What is certain and beyond doubt is that this epidemic ends with...

Words: 1901 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

History of the Black Death

...How the Black Death Affected the Modern World The Black Death is the worst plague that mankind has ever had to face, much worse than anything we face today. The mortality rate was astounding; whoever was unfortunate enough to become infected with the Black Death would die in a matter of days while suffering through a great deal of pain and agony (Snell). Its peak was around 1348-1353 in Europe, ranging from England all the way to Eastern Europe and beyond (The Black Death, 1348, 2001). The Black Death is thought to have started in China or central Asia, before spreading west. The plague then travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1347. From there, it was probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population. All in all, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century (Ibeji, 2011). The plague disease, generally thought to be caused by Yersinia pestis, is commonly present in populations of fleas carried by ground rodents, including marmots, in various areas including Central Asia, Kurdistan, Western Asia, Northern India and Uganda (Edmonds). Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe at the trading city of Caffa in the Crimea in 1347 (Whipps, 2008). After a protracted siege, during which the Mongol...

Words: 1928 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Sdfghyujlo;

...Bubonic Plague | |Web Quest | |Madera Unified School District EETT Grant Project | |California History Standard 7.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Europe.  7.6.7  Map the spread| |of the bubonic plague from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, and Europe and describe its impact on global population. | |Introduction | |  | |A deadly disease invaded Europe in 1348. There was no way to tell where the disease came from, how it spread or where it started. Mass hysteria covered the continent as rumors of the| |"Black Death" spread...

Words: 927 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Geoffrey De Meaux On Astrological Causes Of The Black Death

...The Black Death was a disease outbreak throughout Europe, Asia , and North African that killed millions of people. Some of the past explanations for the causes of the black death are related to religion, nature, and anti-Semitism. For example, the excerpt from "Decameron" explains how the Black Death was a result of the wrath of god and god's desire to gain revenge for the sins of the people of the earth. Additionally, nature was another factor that influenced the explanations of the Black Death. In the excerpt of "Geoffrey de Meaux on Astrological Causes", it is developed that the Black Death was caused by the eclipse and this disarray of the planets, specifically Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars at this time. The excerpt "On Earthquakes as the...

Words: 486 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Black Plague In Medieval Europe

...The first evidence of the plague hitting Europe was at Sicilian port of Messina in Italy after a long voyage was taken place from the Black Sea. Many of the sailors boarding the ships were either found dead or ill from a mysterious cause that was unknown and therefore spreading the plague. This impacted the European society and lifestyle in that the economy and population were declining rapidly in just a few years. Several people during this time turned to their religious beliefs and blamed themselves because they believed God was punishing them for their sins. This leads to the question: “How significant was the belief in the Catholic faith during the Black Plague in Medieval Italy and what impact on society did this have?” To this day, the Black Plague is an event that can be interpreted in many ways. By investigating the event through the religious view, it challenges the views of...

Words: 909 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Did The Black Death Change In The High Middle Ages

...The Black Death stands out as the most dramatic and lifestyle changing event during the 14th century. This was a widespread epidemic of the bubonic plague that passed from Asia and through Europe in the mid fourteenth century. The first signs of the Black Death in Europe were present around the fall of 1346. In the span of three years, the Black Death killed one third of all the people in Europe. This traumatic population change coming into the Late Middle Ages caused great changes in European culture and lifestyle. How exactly did the plaque begin? The Black Death was one of many catastrophes to occur following an increase in population during the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). The population of Europe grew from 38 million to 74 million in this time. Before the plague, Europe had been enjoying an increased state of growth in both agriculture and structure in society. Cities began to rise with artisans, farmers, and other crafts people specializing in their own field of work. The daily amount of contact between the European people in the cities and...

Words: 1370 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Black Death Changes

...the beginning of documented history, it has been noted on many occasions that pandemics have swept the world claiming the lives of millions. Among them are the Antonine Plague, HIV/AIDS, and the Black Death. While the Bubonic plague has occurred many times throughout the world’s history, the Black Death was a devastating epidemic that occurred in the late fourteenth century that spread to all areas of Europe. In totality, it caused the deaths of more than fifty million people. The devastation caused by the Black Death resulted in a total restructuring of everyday life in fourteenth century Europe. The Black Death was a disease that first originated in China in the early 1330’s. Over a period of ten years, the disease had killed more than...

Words: 1944 - Pages: 8