Transcript Black Plague Notes

The Plague
1330s -1351
Background on the Plague
Black Plague, Black Death, Bubonic Plague, the
Plague
1/3 of Europe’s population died = 25 million
people
Came from Asia w/ the Mongol army and
traders
Black Death Around the World
Started in either northwestern or southwestern Asia
Plague outbreak in Yuan Empire in 1331
Spreads to India, Central Asia (Uzbeks, Caspian
Sea), Persia, Mediterranean, Europe, Africa, and
Arabia
Travels along sea and trade routes
The Main Culprit
A rat flea
Bacteria multiplied in the flea’s stomach  made
it always hungry  flea stayed on the host longer
and passed on the bacteria
Remedies
#1: Good Smelling Plants
Juniper, laurel, lemon leaves, rosemary, POSIES
Believed it would ward off evil spirits
#2: Noise/Sound
Rang church bells and fired cannons
Best Defenses
Isolation/Quarantine
Milan, Italy and Venice, Italy
Effects of the Plague
Economy  Working class died, peasants
demand higher wages
Social  No law & order, people committed a
lot of crime
Church  Lost followers because they were
unable to explain the plague or provide cures
Art  Written language was almost lost,
paintings were used as records – Major themes:
death & dying
Effects of the Plague
Children  Exposed to death, and chaos; often
orphaned – family deaths or abandonment
Population  Europe’s population won’t
increase again until 1400’s; took another 400
years before the population equaled what it did
before the plague