...Cristian Pardo Period 4 10/13/2014 Mr. Westerman Bubonic Plague DBQ Terrorizing throughout the fourteenth through the eighteenth century, the bubonic plague took the lives of at least one third of the population of Europe. The bubonic plague, also known as the black death, had originally arrived in Europe from rat infested ships bringing spices and other goods back from Asia. The disease then quickly spread throughout Europe as the rats distributed the virus. Throughout Europe there were several mixed reactions to the black death. The most obvious of the reactions is fear of the plague because England had never been under attack by any illness like this. This sickness had spread lots of skepticism as to how it was spreading. It even had some of the best scholars of the time stumped. Theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (Document 2) said that what the true culprit of the cause of the widespread of the disease was the fact that England had streets full of filth and urine. Erasmus was on the right track. It was not uncommon at the time for people to simply throw out their feces in front of...
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...About a third of Europe’s population and a quarter of Syria’s and Egypt’s were killed by the disgusting pestilence known as the Bubonic Plague. The epidemic, also nicknamed the Black Death, was a disease that caused painful blisters on its victims, along with chills, fever, quick heartbeat and vomiting. It first appeared in Asia in the 1330s, and spread to Europe and northern Africa in the 1340s. Since cultures differ dramatically by location, people who followed Christianity and people who followed Islam had very strong distinction in opinion about the illness. Christians and Muslims had such different responses to the Bubonic plague because of their reactions, placing the blame and acceptance of the tragedy. One reason the responses to the Black Death varied so much was the initial reactions. A quote from a Christian in this time period reads “It was a cruel and horrible thing; and I do not know where to begin to tell the cruelty and the pitiless ways. It seemed that almost everyone became stupefied from seeing the pain. And it is impossible for the human tongue...
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...Another form of transportation for sickness was steamships. Bubonic plague was carried by “the steamship network that arose in the 1870’s was the vehicle that dispersed the infection around the globe, and did so, once the epidemic broke out in Canton and Hong Kong, with a speed that was limited only by the speed with which a ship could carry its colony of infected rats and fleas to a new port. Speed was obviously decisive in allowing a chain of infection to remain unbroken from port to port.” Often times over longer voyages, the plague could die out within the rats and fleas because the shipmen would become immune to the plague and there would be no persons left aboard that could be a sustainable host for the disease. The ocean was too wide for the plague to be carried from ports of the Mongol...
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...The bubonic plague devastated Europe over a five year period (1347 to 1352) , from that time over 25 million people died. In various documents of that time the plaque could only be decsribed as horrible swellings and bruise like markings all over the body. Accompanied by rash. The only thing the people of europe could do was watch every one they knew die in large numbers. Although there where, of course, many attempts for a cure all where to no avail. In Document 1 (Boccaccio Describes the Arrival of the Bubonic Plague in Florence, The Decameron , 1350 CE) " very few were ever cured; all died three days after the appearance of the first outward signs, some lasted a little bit longer, some died a little bit more quickly, and some without fever...
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...Many lives were lost during the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, or the Black Death, in the fourteenth century. During this time, religion had a large influence in human society. Many people in certain religions reacted differently to the plague. A perfect example of this would be the Christians and the Islams. According to the 2010 DBQ Document of World History, one can conclude that the responses of the Christian and Islam were not similar because each religion had different beliefs, believed that the disease came from different origins, sought different practices of preventing the disease, and because the living of each religion responded differently to the plague. Firstly, even though they both basically worshipped the same god, Christianity...
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...enough to write. Who knows what literary works would have been written had it not been for the plague and the rate at which it devastated. The Black Death caused, prevented, and interrupted many works of literature. The Black Death, a plague on humanity capable of wiping out one fourth of Europe’s one hundred million people in the course of five years, made its mark between the years 1347 and 1351 (Marks). During that time, three types of plague were to have know to exist: Bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic (Marks). Although bubonic variant of the plague took the most time to kill it was still the most deadly simply due to it being the most widespread of the three (Marks). The bubonic plague got its name from the numerous buboes or cancer like growths that would develop on the victim’s armpit and groin (Marks). Another symptom that accompanied the growths was the presence of a constant fever. The buboes were swelled lymph glands as a result of the body’s lymphatic system trying to fight the disease. Basically, they were pockets of the dead white blood cells that piled up from fighting the plague bacteria. A total lymphatic shutdown was imminent when the buboes appeared. Death came in three to five days of infection (Marks). The other two types of plague, septicemic and pneumonic, were much less widespread than bubonic but in most cases more deadly. Septicemic plague is an infection of the blood stream with the Pasteurella...
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...How the Black Death Affected the Modern World The Black Death is the worst plague that mankind has ever had to face, much worse than anything we face today. The mortality rate was astounding; whoever was unfortunate enough to become infected with the Black Death would die in a matter of days while suffering through a great deal of pain and agony (Snell). Its peak was around 1348-1353 in Europe, ranging from England all the way to Eastern Europe and beyond (The Black Death, 1348, 2001). The Black Death is thought to have started in China or central Asia, before spreading west. The plague then travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1347. From there, it was probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population. All in all, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century (Ibeji, 2011). The plague disease, generally thought to be caused by Yersinia pestis, is commonly present in populations of fleas carried by ground rodents, including marmots, in various areas including Central Asia, Kurdistan, Western Asia, Northern India and Uganda (Edmonds). Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe at the trading city of Caffa in the Crimea in 1347 (Whipps, 2008). After a protracted siege, during which the Mongol...
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...laboring force. This meant that farm labor was unavailable to plant and tend crops. Supply decreased, and prices for goods rose. Businessmen saw this and reshaped their businesses in order to meet the demands of potential customers. What worked in their favor was the increase of “the gross volume of luxury goods manufactured and sold”. Furthermore, due to the agricultural pool decreasing, “the rural worker indeed demanded and received higher payments in nominal wages”. Even though there were higher payments given, people were still intrigued by the plague and city dwellers moved to the country to avoid the disease. Many in the country moved to the cities in hopes of getting employment. The times were suitable for inflation and in many countries the governments stepped in to bring the economies back into line. The inflation “reduced the purchasing power (real wage) of the wage laborer”, and in many cases, made the worker worse off than pre-plague. This contributed to peasants later bargaining for better working conditions and responsibilities due to the deaths. David Routt is persuasive in his argument due to all the information present in his essay. He covered many different areas in the...
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...several names such as Black Death, the Bubonic Plague and the Black plague. Regardless of what you call it, it was one of the world’s worst pandemic in history. This plague tore through Europe destroying villages and communities. The immediate impact was fear, chaos, and complete devastation, the long term effect proved to improve economics and societies. Black Death spread through Europe beginning in 1346 and ending in 1353. Seven years of “unexplained” deaths, the plague chose no race, color, age or gender it attacked and killed 50 million people or 60% of the population (Benedictou 2005). Symptoms of the plague began with swollen glands in the neck, armpits, and groin areas. Internal bleeding gave the skin a blackened coloring earning the name “Black Death”. Other symptoms range from red blotching of the skin “rosies” Once bitten these would appear within a couple days and the victim would die within a week. Even a more powerful strain of this plague was the pneumonic plague; this version went directly to the lungs and respiratory systems. Now not only was this spread by the fleas but also through human to human contact. Once infected a simple cough would send droplets and blood to the next victim, highly contagious and it killed in two days. It was recorded that up to five hundred people could be buried in one pit in less than a month’s time. (2011) There were a number of beliefs of how the people thought the plague began and spread: the religious...
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...Global pandemics have helped shape history and the modern world. Without the diseases that cause pandemics nations and empires would not have been able to expand as far and wide as they did and they would not have grown in complexity and culture. The bubonic plague took the world to the Dark Ages, but also resulted in one of the greatest ages of enlightenment, the Renaissance. Beautiful works of art, literature, and philosophy were born from this. Somewhat sadly not all pandemics have resulted in ages of enlightenment. Often they come fast, kill even faster, and then are gone. One pandemic that still plagues the world today, with no end in sight, is AIDS. An incurable virus that became the center of attention in the 1980's. Bubonic plague and AIDS are very different in nature, but have resulted in many similar political, economic, and cultural impacts within human societies. The differences and similarities of these pandemics can help us understand pandemics better and also can help us to prepare for future pandemics. First we must look at the bubonic plague, how it spread and how it impacted the world socially, economically, and culturally. It was first recorded in Europe by a Sicilian chronicler by the name of Michele da Piazza in October of 1347, who recorded the port of Messina having twelve galleys full of sailors carrying the disease down to the marrow of their bones.1 Black Death began to really take its toll in 1348, spreading through Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland...
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...The Plague If there is one part of life that humans have trouble overcoming it is natural disasters. They are unexpected, incurable, and often unconquerable. One specific type of natural disaster is that of sickness. Plagues are disastrous evil afflictions of an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality. A historically famous plague in the fourteenth and fifteenth century is the Black or Bubonic Plague. The social and economic effects of the plague in Europe were harmful to the population and economy. The Black Plague is an Oriental Plague marked by inflammatory boils and tumors of the glands. Such break outs were found in no other feverish disease. Inflammatory boils often appeared and black spots which indicated decomposition of the body ultimately appeared on the skin. Another symptom of the plague was openings with a discharge of offensive matter. Due to the significant pain and rapid spread of the plague medicine was ultimately never found, although attempted. People consumed in the plague died within three days of getting it. The plague began in 1333, fifteen years before it broke out in Europe. Many natural disasters were engulfing the Asian countries; floods, starvation, droughts, and the plague. A drought and food shortage had crucified the country which was started by floods of the Kiang and Hoai Rivers. After all of these disastrous events still an earthquake, continued floods, and food shortage ended in late 1300’s. Around 1339 in northwestern Europe...
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...archeologists, Bubonic plague may have originated from Egypt and not in Asia as originally thought. The disease is termed ‘Black Death’ and is said to have also begun in North Africa. Archeologists and fossil insect experts report that the disease may have distributed as a result of the flooding of River Nile that forced the rats to infest the human populated areas during the 3500 B.C. The causative agents of Bubonic Plague are known as Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) that are normally classified as Gram-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacilli. The coccobacilli are either rod or oval shape, and they is short. The Y. pestis metabolism is fermentative just like the other enterobacteriaceae, and they produce a thick antiphagocytic capsule that prevents the white blood cells from the ability to ward off the Y. pestis infection. In this paper, the disease Bubonic Plague will be discussed in details, including its causes, and the place where the recent outbreak has occurred. Introduction Bubonic Plague is brought by the Yersinia pestis, which is a Gam-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacilli. As learned in classes, the coccobacilli are rod or oval in shape, and normally short in size. Just like other Enterobacteriaceae, the Yersinia pestis has a fermentative type of metabolism, and they produce antiphagocytic capsule, which prevents white blood cells from wedding off the Y. pestis infection. The Y. pestis is a causing agent to a number of diseases including bubonic, septicemic and...
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...Concerning the bubonic plague, it had two devastating outbursts in Europe, in 543 and in 1348 (Rosen, pp. 24). They are respectively called the Justinian plague (porter, pp. 32) and the Black Death (Rosen, pp. 24). The protection of the people against epidemic diseases was at the centre of attention, especially after the first outbreak. It disseminated all classes and caused terror among all. The death of infected people occurred rapidly. The disease attacked the lymphatic or/and the lungs. It passed through human by simple contact (Rosen, pp. 24). The same principle of isolation than with leprosis was applied at the first outbreak (Rosen, pp. 25). The procedure was that the infected person had to be reported, and then examine. If the person...
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...In the years 1346-53 an epidemic of the terrible bubonic plague, spread across Europe. This plague is more commonly recognized as the Black Death, a name that came several centuries after. In order to stop the spread of this devastating disease, it was necessary that the physicians and scientists of that day begin to research and understand certain things: where this disease came from and how it spread so fast among the population; the symptoms and stages that made this disease unique; and how it was impacting society. Research shows that one way this disease most likely evolved, was from the Central Asiatic Plateau, the stretch of dessert that touches Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Most researchers believe it came from rats,...
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...Sodder Children It is estimated that 356,00 people lose their homes to fires. The Sodder family was one of these people. On christmas eve of 1945 the Sodder house caught on fire and burned to ashes. Out of 10 children, only 5 survived the fire but the remains of the other 4 were never found. The mystery of the what happened to the Sodder family can be summed up in two theories: Teh Kids were taken by 4 adults that had no help and the kidnapper paid off the police and fire department to keep quiet. While the Sodders were only regular everyday people their disappearance has confused and bewildered people for over 50 years. While some people disagree on what really happened, Most can agree that around 1:00 am “Jennie was drifting back into sleep when she heard what sounded like an object landing on the roof and then rolling down along the side of the house” (The Sodder Children Mystery). A couple of minutes later Jennie woke up to the smell of smoke and started yelling for her husband to wake up ( Mystery of Missing Children). When George Sodder got up he went to get his ladder to save his kids but it wasn’t there, so when he went to go get his trucks to help neither would work (The Sodder Children Mystery). Even though only five of the 10 children got out of the house, no bones or body parts were found in the rubble (5 Missing Children). Some believe that the children just died in the fire, but most think something very different happened. One of the most popular theories is that...
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