The Black Death
virulence that the course of human history changed forever" (Wark). In its second pandemic, the bubonic plague, mostly referred to as the Black Death, wiped out almost a third of Europe's population. The Black Death was a horrible tragedy that was responsible for many deaths and caused many changes in the 14th through 17th century.The bubonic plague could not have spread on it's own: it needed help. For instance, natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, drove rats to look for shelter in human settlements (Wark). The rats would reside in areas where humans lived and spread the plague to them. The humans would in turn get sick and die along with the rats. Furthermore, not only rats carried the Yersinia pestis, which carries the bubonic plague; insects and other rodents also could become carriers of the deadly plague (Nikiforuk 45). Humans would unknowingly transport the plague from village to village, killing everyone in them. The rats would also climb aboard ships and travel with the cargo. The plague was fatal, and caused horrible grief for many. The Black Death left Europe with heaps of infected corpses. For example, contractors of the plague had a thirty to seventy-five percent chance of death within a
Roden, Katie. Plague. Brookfield: Copper Breech Books, 1996. and other Scourges. Toronto: Penguin Books Ltd., 1991. Nikiforuk, Andrew. The Fourth Horseman: A Short History of Epidemics, Plagues, Famines, Internet. 28 April 1999. Available Through all the havoc, some found ways to vent their frustration while others took advantage of the situation. For instance, many apothecaries made money by selling poison to diseased victims (Chamberlain 133). They weren't doing this to help the people; they only wanted to make a profit. The well being of these other people wasn't their concern, only their own. Equally important is the fact that Jews were blamed of "spreading the disease by poisoning wells" (Karlen 135). Much of this came from the fact that many Europeans were Christians and had already begrudged and persecuted the Jews because they believed they caused the death of Christ. They were used as scapegoats and were wrongfully killed because of people's prejudice ideas and lack of tolerance for other religions.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1064
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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