Economic and Social Life of Europe

The Black Death is the name later given to the Epidemic of plague that took over Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disease affected all areas of life. It caused chaos wherever it was spread. Depopulation and shortage of labor didn't help the wealthy; a society once based on your amount of wealth (land) was now turning into a battle between the social classes. Wealthy had to pay workers more because there were fewer workers, and workers demanded more money for their work.

In less than four years the plague had a path of death through Asia, Italy, France, North Africa, Spain and Normandy, it even made its way over the Alps into Switzerland, and continued eastward into Hungary the plague continued by crossing the channel into England, Scotland, and Ireland, and eventually made its way into the northern countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and even as far north as Greenland. With more than one form during the same epidemic, allowed it to

There was a huge decline in the birth rate. Europe's population was half what it had been in 1345. Europe's population took about six generations to recover.

That much death could not help but tear economy and social structures apart. Lack of peasants and laborers made wages increase, and the value of land decreased dramatically. For the first time in history the tides turned against wealthy landlords as peasants and serfs gained more power. The shortage in labor lead to the increase of wages. There was an oversupply of goods, and so prices dropped. Between those two things, the standard of living rose.

spread so fast. The plague had been in almost the entire world.

Another problem was the Jewish population. In village after village, the people blamed the plague on the Jews. Hundreds of Jews were accused of poisoning wells and burned. When the plague raged through the German lands between 1348 and 1352, over 300 Jewish communities were either destroyed or expelled from their homelands.

None of these rebellions were successful.

The living lost sense

Some common words found in the essay are:
Denmark Iceland, Black Death, Hundreds Jews, Catalonian Rebellion, Church People, Alps Switzerland, Scotland Ireland, died families, Peasant's Rebellion, French Jacquerie, shortage labor, europe's population,
Approximate Word count = 721
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)