Why was the 14th century so disastrous - Research Paper Example

Even with its glory of production of gold and silver, during the 14th century, production reduced and the flourishing state was in a devastating state. Nevertheless, Europe was in the era of medieval industrial revolution. The mediaeval era can be referred to as the time of inventions, innovations in managing traditional means of production and economic growth. The mediaeval people referred to this period as the Great Pestilence or the Great Plague. There are three calamities that Europe suffered namely hunger, war and plague.

The 14th Century was a period of anxiety, declined expectations and lost expectations. During the century, Europe experienced two great natural disasters; the little ice age and the Black Death. There were two ice age’s; the first one occurred from 1200 to1600 and the one from 1700 to 1800 (University of Wisconsin, uwgb.edu). During the first or mini ice age, the Baltic Sea froze to a level that had never been recorded or witnessed, while the Alpine glaciers developed. Combs points out that “crops failed due to cold temperatures and incessant rain” (168).

The result of this was desperate and starved people, who went to the extent of eating one another to stay alive. It can be said that the situation in Europe was unstable. This is because the change in climate caused a lot of changes, especially in food production, as crops failed (Bray 59). During this period, warm and intense amount of cold and wet periods were experienced in Europe. Northern Europe lost much of its wheat and the highlands of Europe produced greatly reduced crops. The feudal system was under different forms of attacks.

The famine had destabilized the land-tenure system and led to the increased movement of the peasantry. Banks closed down and others collapsed. War begun to devastate France and impoverish England, while the civil war was tearing Italy apart. The population had remained steady as the food decreased, hence leading to the classical