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 ttack 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 also be greatly affected for years to come. (Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West.
Pg. 17, 24. ) The Black Death played a major role in the depletion of the European economic system. The main problem was the loss of workers. Many people were expecting death, because of the widespread amount of causalities surrounding them; so, in response they would not work and instead they would just try and enjoy the little time that they had left by becoming gluttons and drunks. In response, the legal system had to allow people who were not fit for certain jobs, take them because of the shortage of workers.
This made it hard for the economy of Europe to uphold the quality of its skilled traditions. Also, trade was now highly discouraged to try and prevent anymore spread f the disease and therefore, major inflation was enforced and the price of many locally produced goods and necessities nearly doubled shortly after the plague struck. So, labor was now in very high demand throughout Europe and the price of work was rising as the Black Death continued to take its toll on the population of Europe. (Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Pg. 40, 42, 46.
During the time of the Black Death, peasants were either benefiting from newly found work or they were falling victim to the plague. As compared to times prior to the Black Death, many peasants hroughout Europe were now able to receive higher wages and better treatment because of the shortage of workers. However, that was not the case for many peasants in England during this time. At the time of the Black Death, the poll taxes in England were very high and they continued to rise with the number of deaths rising from the Black Death and also because England was partaking in the Hundred Years Wars at this time.
This rise in taxes and the unfair treatment ultimately caused the peasants to revolt in 1381. Although the Peasants’ revolt was quickly stopped and many peasants were killed and executed, here were some benefits from this revolt. The poll taxes were never raised again, the Lords treated them with much more respect, many of them were freed, and most importantly this led to the breakdown of the feudal system. Previously, the feudal system had been prevalent throughout Europe and it had been working well. The idea of feudalism was serving someone in return for protection.
In the case of the peasants, they were at the bottom of the social class and therefore they would serve the knights and vassals by providing them with food and services and in return they received land and protection. However, following the Peasants’ Revolt feudalism began to fade away and Europe also began to see its overall social structure slowly changing. (Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Pg. 47. Sommerville, J. P. The Peasants’ Revolt. https://faculty. history. wisc. edu. The Peasants’ Revolt 1381. http://edgegrove. herts. sch. uk/.
The impact that the Black Death had on the economy was similar to the effects that it had on the social structure of Europe. The Black Death ultimately deteriorated and reshaped the social structure of Europe. For instance, many Churches hroughout Europe would be greatly affected by the Black Death. The Black Death caused many people to doubt God because of the amount of death that surrounded them and the failure of their prayers to prevent them from sickness and death. However, the most direct impact that the Black Death played in the downfall of the Church was that many priests were dying.
Priests were meant to hear the confessions and administer the last rites to those who were near death, and as a result, the mortality rate for priests was nearly forty percent. Therefore, the Church was forced to hire younger and nexperienced priests who were not fully qualified for the job. This threatened the institutional stability and continuity of the Church and the Church would ultimately be undermined and reshaped by the Black Death. The Black Death also helped discredit the leaders of society and the laws and theories that they supported and many people tried to blame others for this devastation called the Black Death.
Jews, in particular, were accused of poisoning the wells of many Christian neighborhoods throughout parts of northern Spain and southern France. This belief ultimately led to the widespread persecution of many Jews throughout Europe. The Black Death also led to the decrease in the number of students as much as any other social group. Many people believed that it was not worth their time and money to attend school if there was already a high chance of them dying anyway. In conclusion, the Black Death weakened the number of skilled and learned members of society and it threatened the quality of cultural traditions.
However, as terrible and devastating as the Black Death was, it did ultimately prepare Europe for the road to renewal. (Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Pg. 59, 64-65, 69, 81. Cantor, Norman F. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made. Pg. 148, 203, 205-206 (Kindle/ eBook) When people tend to try and find positives that came out of the Black Death and its reign of terror they usually point to the fact that the plague broke the Malthusian deadlock that Europe was stuck in.
The Malthusian idea was based on the belief that a reckoning was inevitable when a human population tends to expand up to and beyond the limits of their food supplies. This idea points to the reckoning of the Black Death. The Black Death reatly thinned out the population of Europe and it ultimately helped Europe escape its pattern of society and culture that it had been experiencing throughout the thirteenth century.
David Herlihy presents this idea in his book The Black Death and the Transformation of the West by stating, “after the plague, the economy of Europe became more diversified, [there was] a more intensive use of capital, a more powerful technology, and a higher standard of living for the people” (Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Pg. 31, 51. ) In conclusion, the Black Death was one of the most evastating natural disasters to ever strike Europe and the economy and social structure would be forever changed as a result of it.
The Black Death’s affect on the economy of Europe was a major shortage of workers throughout Europe, the inflation of many goods, and ultimately the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. The Black Death shared a similar affect on the society of Europe: it undermined the Church, caused the persecution of Jews throughout Europe, and led to poorer education. However, the Black Death did lead Europe towards the restructuring of their economy and society and ultimately propelled Europe out of the Middle Ages.
