Impact of the Black Death - Term Paper Example

?IMPACT OF THE BLACK DEATH Introduction Plague is referred to as the Black Death as it was held responsible for causing numerous deaths in the early 14th century. It spread such chaos and terror among people that they abandoned their kith and kin, for the fear of catching it and dying ultimately. Fathers left diseased children and wives left husbands, such was the situation back then. Between 1347 and 1351, it killed nearly 30% of the European population and a phenomenon known as depopulation occurred. Not only that but also economic, political and cultural changes were brought about by plague. Victims of plague died every day and there was no one to claim their bodies or no one to bury them (Gottfried, 1983). The Black Death was also there in Asia and the Middle East during 1347-51, simultaneously with Western Europe (Peschke, 2008). The economic impact of the Black Death was that it favored the peasants more than the landowners or the elites. Impact Before the Black Death period, Europe was reaping the fruit of its growth. There was an agricultural revolution at the start of the 14th century in Europe and food production increased and the area under cultivation increased. However there was a famine for two years in Europe (1315 to 1317) but the growth far surpassed it. But the growth period came to an end in1347 when Europe was struck by the Black Death, which left the entire Europe in pessimism and melancholy (Peschke, 2008). Investigating the effects of plague was important in knowing the economic and demographic trends as a lot of controversies were involved. One of the controversies was that deaths were not caused by plague but because the Jews had poisoned the water wells. Innocent Jews were killed, not by plague but by the people who held them guilty for the chronic depopulation (Peschke, 2008). One of the most affected European countries was Italy, so in-depth studies to find out the causes and remedies for plague were very necessary. The Black Death was an outcome of bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic symptoms of plague. The Black Death was a part of the second plague pandemic, as it was its first epidemic and it recurred in the eighteenth century. Before Europe was hit by plague, it was dominated by aristocrats and religious leaders as they owned property and ruled over peasants and the working class in general. Labor was underpaid and abundant in supply but after plague, when chronic depopulation occurred, technological methods were introduced to meet the shortage of workers and overtime, it became good substitutes for human labor (Bowsky, 1964). There are various viewpoints for the Black Death as some historians believe that the impact of the Black Death was transient while others believe that it was the main driving force which revolutionized medieval Europe into modern Europe. Some religious leaders like Cardinal F. A. Gasquet associate the Black Death with the downfall of the Christian church. Monasticism was particularly more adversely affected by the Black Death. Whereas there were also some optimists like G. G. Coulton, who viewed the effects of depopulation as beneficial for the ones who survived, as they had more wealth per head and as a result the advent of the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation was made possible. Besides that, the Black Death also had a psychological impact as the survivors were disturbed by the massive wave of plague and the way it killed so many of the people they knew or were related to. Some people are of the opinion that the Black Death was too massive a blow to Europe and hence they categorize it under the three worst catastrophes that ever took place on the face of this earth. With time, people forget how huge the impact of a particular catastrophe was. For instance some Marxists and non-Marxist both sideline the Black Death as a part of a crisis, rather than being the main crisis itself (Gottfried, 1983). Europe was dominated by feudalism before the end of the 13th century and peasants were paid less, even though they worked a lot. But after the end of the 13th century, a new Europe emerged, which had no room for feudalism. The political and social mindset of the population changed and new institutions were developed. Economic growth occurred in the early 14th century as the agricultural output rose and there was more food available for everyone. This growth was however short-lived as the Black Death diminished the much sought economic growth. The Black Death cannot be studied in its entirety without studying its economic impact on Europe (Thompson, 1931). The working population plummeted and thus the real wages of laborers rose sharply, while the price of wheat and rent decreased as a consequence of the Black Death. There was a positive relationship between real wages and population growth in England between 1310 and 1449. But when the Black Death research was extended to France, there was no proof that implied that real wages rose as a result of the Black Death (Brainerd, 2002). The death rate in England in the aftermath of the plague was between 40% and 55%. There seemed to be no remedy for plague, probably because the physicians did not diagnose it correctly or prescribed the wrong medicines. Patients died within 3 days from the onset of symptoms (Horrox, 1994). The emotional trauma of the plague was such that it affected the performance of the healthy workers and because of the spread of plague, they were scared that they might catch the disease and die. The prices of edibles prescribed to plague victims like sugar and sweetmeat, started rising quickly. Besides, other necessities like eggs also became unaffordable. The economic impact of the Black Death was not entirely adverse as when things were under control, the standards of living began to rise. In the pre-plague period, there was mass poverty (among farmers mostly) and scarce resources in Europe but in the aftermath of the Black Death, economic prosperity was experienced in Europe. When one third of the European population died, the remaining peasants demanded higher wages and low rents from the aristocrats who had had the upper-hand prior to the Black Death. In Italy particularly, the labor shortage was more pronounced and landowners were in a weak bargaining position so they had to provide free accommodation, tools, seeds and land in order to entice workers to work. The peasants in Italy became so powerful that unless and until a landowner provided them oxen, they refused to work on the fields. So the Black Death can be labeled as the turning point in the lives of the working class. Workers knew they could manipulate the landlords because of the shortage of laborers. If landowners did not fulfill all the needs of the laborers, they blatantly changed employers (Slavicek, 2008). Serfdom was dominant in Europe before the Black Death but after it, serfdom was completely eliminated. Under serfdom, workers had to pay marriage or birth taxes. But after the catastrophic Black Death, such taxes were removed and the disposable income of the peasants rose, who also became more empowered and had a say. The peasants also gained respect and they were not looked down upon as before. However the elites somewhat suffered economically because rising wages and low rents meant that less income flew to them. But as mentioned earlier, the prices of the agricultural products rose. Agricultural products were traded by elites and a rise in prices increased the profits for the landowners. But the rising costs of production were too significant to be ignored by the landowners (Slavicek, 2008). Conclusion The Black Death had emotional, political, social, cultural and economic effects on Europe. Its adverse effects cannot be discounted with the passage of time as it was a period of gloom in the European history. There are people who just draw negative conclusions from the Black Death but there are also some proponents who extract the positives out of the Black Death. For instance, the economic effect of the Black Death was quite favorable and the peasants became the more advantaged group while the elite landowners lost their authority and had to succumb to the rising demands of the peasants. The standard of living per head rose as due to the chronic depopulation the national income or wealth was divided among a lesser number of people. The peasants were not subjected to the higher rents and taxes and also enjoyed freedom to switch employers. Necessity is the mother of invention and when Europe was struck with the threat of labor shortage, efforts were dedicated to inventing technological methods of production. In the long run, labor was substituted by technology and there was less dependence on workers. Efficiency was achieved in production because of technology and the agricultural output rose. But the immediate effects of the Black Death were the improved standards of living of the peasants and a fall in the exploitative powers of the landowners. Bibliography Bowsky, W. M. (1964). The Impact of the Black Death Upon the Sienese Government and Society. Speculum-A Journal of Mediaeval Studies . Brainerd, E. (2002). The Economic Effects of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic. JEL . Gottfried, R. S. (1983). The black death: natural and human disaster in medieval Europe. New York: The Free Press. Horrox, R. (1994). The Black Death. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Peschke, Z. (2008). The impact of the Black Death. ESSAI , 1-3. Slavicek, L. C. (2008). The Black Death. New York: Infobase Publishing . Thompson, J. W. (1931). (Chap. XVI "The Black Death"). In J. W. Thompson, Economic and Social History of Europe in the Later Middle Ages (1300-1530) (p. 544). New York: The Century Company. Read More