Effect of the Black Death in England on Londons Culture, Economy between 1348 and about 1500 - Essay Example

Effect of the Black Death in England on London's culture, population and economy between 1348 and about 1500. When the epidemic set into Europe, it was not initially referred to as the Black Death. The adopted names were “The pestilence” and “The Great Mortality”. Rather, this name was adopted later on with time. The source of the epidemic was a Genoese ship that had set sail from Caffa and came ashore in Sicily at Messina. The crew of the ship had already been ravaged by the plague that killed in a matter of hours when exposed. The manner in which the plague quickly spread is rather disheartening. The action of the Sicilians to close their Messina port necessitated the ships from the east to seek available port alongside the Mediterranean. As such, the plague quickly grew and spread into the nations where these plague harboring ships anchored. In this way, the plague was responsible for the demise of approximately one third’s of England’s population. In approximately four years, the plague had covered almost the entire world. This illustrates the grave situation that had been fashioned by the plague. As such, it is imperative to analyze the exact impact of this plague on England as a whole. The steady growth that had characterized England prior to the plague experienced a sudden turn. The extent of deaths that were being realized from the plague has a resounding impact on the religious, economic, social and political structures. The fact that the ships could not anchor in Messina was not enough grounds to explain the sporadic nature of the spread of the plague. In sourcing the answer to this question, the situation that existed in England prior to the incidence of the Black Death, has to be highlighted. The source of the plague was from the fleas that were preset in animals. This is especially the big black rats. As long as the animals were alive, the fleas stayed with their host. However, a problem arose when these animals died; and the fleas had nowhere to go. In their search for a new host, they tended to also attack humans. Thus, this is the rationale for the spread of the deadly plague. At the time, the global population was not that great in comparison to the modern period. As such, the fact that the plague killed one third of the entire England population, it left a significantly large impact on the political, economic and religious structure of England. At the time of the plague, England had been fiercely catholic; as such it is imperative to outline the impact of the Black Plague on religion in England. The plague had its most catastrophic impact in the cities (Sloanb 45). This is based on the fact that the cities had been characterized by overcrowding. Another factor that aided in this unrestricted spread was the low standards of sanitation in the cities at the time. The relative quick period between infection and ultimate demise had a profound impact on the religious practices at the time. The period of the 14th century was a period of profound religious inclinations. England was largely catholic. As such, it was a convention that people would die with their last rights and having confessed their sins. However, this procedure could not be sustained given the vast number of deaths that were being recorded. This compelled the Pope Clement VI to give remission to all those deaths was a directly sourced from the Black Plague. This is because the clergy were unable to be at the bedside of everyone who died. The religious transformation allowed the dying to confess their sins to anyone at their bedside. So much was the need to have people at the bedside of the dying that people were also allowed to confess to women. This had previously been unacceptable in the catholic religion. However, given the nature of the situation, this had to be accepted. The reliance on the clergy hit low probabilities given the characteristic of the plague in attacking isolated populations exemplified by monasteries. It is no surprise that people thought that the plague was as a result of the wrath of God. As such, a significant number of the population lost their faith in God. Despite of this significant number and the compulsion losing faith in religion, others strengthen their faith more by engaging in processions endeavored to mollify God. However, this act was detrimental to the health of the partakers. This is based on the rationale that the processions led to the further spread of the plague. In a world where the number of clergy was quickly reducing while their services were being needed at an increasing rate, the church had to replace their dead members. As such, the fact the time was not on their side, they had to recruit many priests. In often case, those recruited did not qualify further posts. This culminated in a decline in the power and overall influence of the church. With the incidence of the plague, many Christians looked for answers from their respective churches. The catholic leadership was expected to waylay the fears of their congregation and explain the reason for the plague. However, the catholic leaders were just as ignorant on the matter as the people. In addition to this disappointment, the church was experiencing a large ate of abandonment by their clergy. This is because the clergy men were afraid to offer the sacrament of the anointment of the sick. This is hinged on the rationale that they would fall prey to the plague with this act. After the decline of the plague, there was a revolt against the Catholic Church. As such, this was the foundation for the formation of other religious splinter groups. The economy of England received a devastating blow from the plague. The prices in the market plummeted varying from the fear of death harbored by the population (Sloana 647). Agriculture was the worst hit sector. The animals that were once a significant source of income were left to wander by themselves. As such, many died in this wondrous state. The plague claimed so many lives to the extent that there was no one to take care of the livestock. This is rather saddening given that the livestock had been a priced possession to the peasant and the nobles alike. In the same way, many crops were left unattended and thus arrested rotting in the fields. Harvest time was ignored significantly owing to two explanations. The first is that the work force needed to effectively conduct the harvest was none existent. Thus, even if harvest could have been endeavored, there is still some significant portion of the harvest could have gone to waste (Kiesling 451). The second rationale is that the previous harvest had generated large harvest. As such, there had been abundant grain that period. Therefore, they could not have cared less for the harvest. The shortage of food was a direct concern for the people. This high supply generated low demands and then subsequently low prices. The immediate effect was on the supply of labor. The financial business stumbled amidst the deaths of the debtors which left the creditors without recourse. Simply put, the creditors had no means of getting their loans back. This is just one of the ways in which the plague impacted the financial system of England. In addition to this, there was a significant labor shortage. The ongoing construction projects were either undertaken in a much slower pace, stopped or at extreme times abandoned altogether. Through the entirety of England, harvests were left to rot. Manufacturing industries had to cease operations due to this lack of labor. All of these factors led to the disruption of trade throughout England. This, in turn, eventuated in the lack of basic necessities for survival. However, by the onset of the year 1400, some form of normalcy had prevailed in the country. Some positive changes started being witnessed. The prices of commodities stared to stabilize. This was in turning accompanied an oversupply of commodities that, according to the law of demand and supply, led to the reduction of prices. When these two factors combined, those who were lucky enough to be alive experienced a rise in the level of living standards. The most immediate concern for the nobles was the lack of labor. This necessitated a restructuring of the policies governing the imprisonment of the surfs (Sharon 1439). The practice of serfdom was gradually being eliminated. This was hinged on the rationale that the free tenants worked harder and were more motivated than the serfs. As such, the nobles were forced to free the serfs so that they can become free tenants. The landlords wanted to keep their land cultivated despite the shortage of labor. This necessitated a rise in the wage of the tenants if cultivation of the land was to be sustained. This action was not all too pleasing to a number of landlords and nobles. In this event, the tenants would simply flee to the areas where high wages were being granted (Sharon 1435). This situation culminated in the rising of the level of wages and better working conditions for the peasant workers. In lesser extent, the plague eventuated in unprecedented levels of migration. The people were fleeing from both the cities and the rural areas out of fear of being infected with the plague. As such, there were massive amounts of both immigration and emigration. As a result, the rate of inflations was increased. The bare lands that were continuously being abandoned necessitated a structural shift in the financial system of England. This is because the confidence in agriculture as a source of livelihood quickly dwindled. As such, England shifted from an economy of agriculture to an economy based on credit and other forms of tangible money systems. As a direct result of the increasing living standards of the peasant workers, the social distinction between the noble and the peasants started to become blurred (Sharon 452). The nobility stated to become more and more extravagant so as to cement their social standing. Social standing became more than just mere clothe. The individual wearing the clothes had to affirm his or her position in the social structure. In addition to this, the peasant class became more aware of their rights owing to their heightened economic power. They could not take oppression lying down, rather they knew their worth. This in itself presented a problem to the nobility and the landlords. In this measure, the parliament, legislative arm of England, passed the sumptuary laws. These were biased laws that were aimed at sustaining the bias forms of vanity tolerable with the mindset of that period. The law prohibited the peasants and commoners from wearing certain clothes that were only privy to the noble class. These amongst other factors were the primary motivation for the Peasant’s Revolt in England in the year 1381. The peasants were fighting for the economic benefits that had been granted to them during the Black Death but were being taken away after the decline of the plague. As such, the black plague had a direct effect on the collapse of feudalism and the steady rise of the mercantile class. In the analysis of social impact of the black plague, it is imperative to analyze not only the impact on social structure but also on interpersonal relationships. There was wide abandonment even within family members (The Museum of London 23). The severity of the matter is illustrated with parents fearing to nurse their children. The fear instilled in the population by the plague resulted in the people observing their own well being above all else. This attitude that was increasingly being entertained was detrimental to the social relationships characterizing human life (The Museum of London 53). In addition to this, the significant number of deaths at times claimed the lives of an entire generation line of a family. As such, their wealth, which in many cases was as a result of decades and at times centuries of hard work was inherited by distant relations. The Black Death also had a significant impact on the political structure of England. At the time of the plague, the Roman Catholic Church had complete dominion over the actions of the Kings. As such, the Catholic Church embodied the epitome of political power. When the high rankings official of the church stated to de out of the plague, confidence in their rule slowly stated to plummet. This was coupled by plummeting levels of the faith of the people of England. The Black Death also brought complete anarchy. A majority of the political class was either dead or were slowly dying from the plague. The remaining members of the class were hauled up inside their homes out of fear for infections. As such, there was an absence of a stable system of governance. It is not that the rulers of England were complacent. Rather, they did not know what measures to put in place to curb the plague. This is because no one understood the complexities of the plague. This absence of authoritative rule fashioned an enabling environment for the rise of peasant power and the ultimate decline of feudalism. At this juncture, imperative to note theta unlike economic and religious impacts that were somewhat permanent, the political pact of the Black Death was only but temporary. Once the plague subsides, the political climate, returned to normalcy. The Black plague was the final name given to a plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th century. It led to massive deaths that almost left Europe in ruins. The impact of this plague was also severely felt in England. This impact is divided into political, social, economic and religious impacts. The extensive diversification of these impacts gives a picture of the extensive damage that the plague left on England. In the social sense, it led to a decline in the quality of socials relationships. This is hinged on the fact that the people were weary of engaging in social activities out of fear of getting infected. This was also the case characterizing family relations. In the religious sense, people expected the church to have answers on the plague. This is in context to its origin and reason for attacking. Furthermore, they expected the church to be invisible. However, when these expectations were not realized, the power of the church started to decline. In the economic sense, it was rewarding to the living standards of the working peasants. The plague led to the decline in the supply of labor. As such, the nobles and the landlords wee compelled to offer more wages to attract the peasant workers. Failure to which, they would move to more rewarding areas. As such, the level of wages that were being given enabled the peasants to live a more rewarding lifestyle. In the economic sense, it led to a decline in economic growth and at times overall collapse of trading activities. As such, the impact felt by England due to Black Death were catastrophic, at best. The Black Death, 1348–1350 Photograph of one of the mass graves discovered by archaeologists near the Tower of London Available at < http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Explore-online/Pocket-histories/plagues/page3.htm > This is pictorial evidence on the true catastrophic nature the plague had been to the English people. This is just but one of the mass graves that characterized England during the Black Death. Work Cited Sloana, Ann. "The Black Death in England." Medical Journal, 1981: 646-650. Sloanb, William., "The Black Death in England." Medical Journal, 1981: 646-650. Kiesling, David. "The Back Deaths And Property Rights." The Journal of Legal Studies, 2002: 545-587. Sharon, Dewitte. "Selectivity of Black Death Mortality with respect to prexisting health." PNAS, 2008: 1436-1441. The Museum of London. [ http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Explore-online] 22nd April 2013. Read More