Analysis of Bubonic Plague - Research Paper Example

?Bubonic plague Introduction The history of England is abundant with the accounts of political, social and economic unrest for one or the other reason. The discrimination, racial prudence ideals and undue advantage of power are also frequent accounts that impacted the lives of medieval English society greatly. One of the many issues that were prevalent in the English society includes the outbreak of Bubonic plague during 1665 in London. The deadly plague was named as the Black Death for the horrifying effects and ultimate demise of the victim’s life. The skin of the infected person begins turning black in patches or one may call them ‘buboes’ accompanied with uncontrollable vomits, inflammation in tongue and severe headaches. Due to the severity and intolerableness of its effects, this plague was considered as a lethal cause of death. The origins of this plague are associated with the East and a rapid spread is acknowledged all around the Europe. The plague resulted in diminishment of entire communities and a lack of resources and manpower to deal with the bodies was also accounted (HistoricUK). This paper will analyze the situation of England by considering social, economic, religious and political grounds during that era. Political Factors The most devastating era for London was during 1563 when the death rate due to the bubonic plague reached its peak. Approximately 80,000 deaths were reported and further analysis reveals almost 1000 weekly death in August, 1600 weekly in September and 1800 in October (Miller & Orr). As a result of frequent death reports, people started to migrate from London. The elite class had no issues escaping the infectious plague and left the premises of London easily. Like many other accounts, poorer families and financially unsound population was left to die. Queen Elizabeth also fled without paying heed to the people left behind. The political powers, yet again, seemed to support the privileged rich families with no regard given to the humanity and precious lives of poor people. This was not the end of Elizabeth’s political power and justice, she further passed a law to hang any person who enters from London. This justice was not to protect anyone except her own life. The restrictions on imports were also imposed to protect herself from the deadly plague. However, the plague still prevailed and crossed the borders without paying heed to Elizabeth’s orders and laws in 1578. Elizabeth took a rather realistic step and physicians were directed to find cures and prepare preventions for the plague diseases. Economic Factors The economic condition of England was greatly affected by the Plague. Almost half of the London population died due to the devastating effects and ultimate demise of the victims. The poorer labor force was affected the most as this class could not flee or escape the horrifying effects of the plague. The high death rate of the labor class resulted in the shortage of labor force in England. This resulted in high pay demands of labors and landowners were forced to move towards money rents and dodge high labor costs. In addition, farming was replaced with grazing practices which needed fewer workforces. The peasants remained privileged due to high wage rates, as long as the rulers or elite class did not put hands on the state’s funds for their personal expenditures and motives. In order to overcome the labor availability issues at reasonable rates and curb the power of labor class, political step was taken with the fixation of wage rate. The migration, in addition, was prohibited to keep the labor facilities available for their own needs. These steps created a negative attitude of workforce and the rise of Priests’ Revolt is often associated with these political actions taken during the plague period. Religious Factors The Plague appeared for unknown reasons and the indistinct reasons led to chaos in the minds of the people regarding the underlying reasons of its spread. Different religions and religious values held different views and acted upon their religious principles accordingly. Most of the population, who could afford, fled away regardless of the religious, social or moral obligations that imposed on them. However, there were many others who kept associating the plague to the religious side of a human’s life. The beliefs of Muslims, for instance, forbade them from the struggles to avoid or escape the will of God. The resisted the plague affects and did not opt for fleeing away or migrate. Many other groups were formed who either started with their religious teachings, preaching and customs to get the plague away from the premises where they lived. They associated the plague with the wrath of God and His anger on the wrongdoings, injustice and moral incompetence that existed in that era (Ibeji, 2011). Some groups began to move around with their aim of preaching people to repent and reduce God’s agony for the acts they did in the past. The plague writers further affirmed their belief that sins and wrongdoings of the societies led to the divine wrath and associated it to the Black Death (Byrne, 2006, p. 216). Moreover, there were groups who brought their anger and frustration out on the Jews, a minority group, for being responsible for the deaths and the devastations of plague. They were said to have added the poison in the wells which caused the plague and death of many of the beloved citizens. Hence, Jews had to face the arrogant behaviors, violence and cruelty during the plague (Science Museum). An approximate value of 40% of clergy population died in England due to the plague. This resulted in a remarkable decrease in the Church staff. To overcome the issues that arose due to unavailability of staff at churches, random selection of priests was being made. The priests, not competent and fair enough, used the power of church and increased the church scandals. People faced unfair treatment and remained dissatisfied with the church practices. This further devastated the religious situation and led to incompetence of Church to deal with people evenly and justly (Bunker & Rahman). Social Factors The social conditions of England in that era were no less than a terrible nightmare during that age. The poor were forced to live in overly crowded stone buildings for the lack of resources. The overly populated living areas were impossible to be kept clean under the circumstances where they had limited resources to survive on. The health conditions were not managed at all with dirt and filth surrounding their living areas. The basic necessities including clean water, sanitary conditions and proper food were also missing. The filth and dirt alleviated the plague disease and poor were affected the most due to rapid transmission and quick spread for the poor living conditions (Ross). In addition to the prevailing conditions of England, the plague affected the art and literature of that era significantly. The Boccaccio and Petrarch are the famous historical names that showed an impact of plague in their works. The historians, poets, artists, socialists and even religious scholars were moved by the plague devastations and their teachings and works were greatly influenced by the prevalent conditions of England during, before and after the plague. The works of famous historic figures like Boccaccio and Petrarch did not, however, reach all the population that existed. Only elite class and wealthy population read the works and understood the implications. The heart touching accounts of poets and writers of that era are enormous and rich in explanation about the horrors that the Black Death brought. The accounts of the dead bodies that stayed on the streets of England for not having people to bury or properly arrange for funeral ceremonies and the accounts of emptiness of England streets when people fled from the region to avoid plague devastations are touching and horrifying at the same time (Bennett and Hollister 2006). Conclusion The Black Death or Bubonic Plague remained an unrevealed mystery for the people of14th century. Due to their inability to understand the causes, many groups were formed who proposed their own thoughts and ideas about the plague and the underlying reasons of its occurrences. The distinguishing ideas of these groups created a number of incredible ideals which were blindly followed and believed. Some called it a response to the astrological changes, some associated it to the Earthquakes and climatic conditions, some called it a political issue and a few others made it a racial and religious agenda against Jews. The exact reason of the plague remained unknown during the 14th century. The religious forces attached it to the God’s anger and a response to the sinful society. The poor were left to die in the region that was hit by the plague the most and the wealthy were able to move away from the place to save their lives. The life of poor, hence, remained unchanged as they were left with their hardships and their cultural instability remained constant regardless of the plague and political agendas that was rose. This plague, indeed, took a great number of lives and killed people regardless of their social, economic and financial status. They were forced to face and taste the pain of death. The historical accounts and the conditions explained thereof, impact our society and shed light on the way poor are living even today. References Byrne, Joseph P. Daily Life During the Black Death. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2006. Print. Bennett, Judith M, C W. Hollister, and C W. Hollister. Medieval Europe: A Short History. Boston ; Montreal: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print. "The Great Plague 1665 - the Black Death." Historic UK – heritage accommodation in castles, cottages, historic hotels and b&bs. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . "The Black Death and early public health measures." Science Museum, London. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Miller, Liam, and Evan Orr. "templateeliz." Springfield Public Schools - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Bunker, Adam, and Imad Rahman. "templateeliz." Springfield Public Schools - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Ibeji, Mike. "BBC - History - British History in depth: Black Death: The Disease." BBC - Homepage. N.p., 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Ross, David. "The Black Death in England 1348-50." UK travel and heritage - Britain Express UK travel guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Read More