During the 1300’s, strong thirsts for power between countries, religious divisions in Europe, and competition for trade routes were common. Trade routes connected the Eastern Hemisphere with the trade of various goods and information, and controlling these trade routes proved to be rewarding. Unfortunately, these trades routes “also likely carried the deadly plague that killed as many as half of all Europeans within seven years, in what is known as the Bubonic Plague.”1
Beginning in 1348, Bubonic Plague infested merchant ships sailing from the Black Sea to Mediterranean ports, causing so much death that it was common for ships to enter European docks and harbors with at least the majority of the crew dead. Despite efforts to prevent ships from reaching land and spreading the disease, the Bubonic Plague made its way ashore. Unfortunately, people found out how contagious the Bubonic Plague was as it swept through Sicily, Italy, and into the rest of Europe. As a result of the virtual inability of people to stop the spread, many suffered and died.
At the height of the Bubonic Plague, it had spread from China to London, devastating entire villages and bringing trade to a virtual standstill. It has been estimated that as many as 200 million people lost their lives as a result of the Bubonic Plague. In fact, it had a mortality rate that varied between regions.2 Although the Black Death was responsible for killing millions of people in Europe, it was a strong force in influencing the structure of power in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Marchione di Coppo Stephani, a chronicler who lived through the ravages of the plague in Florence during the summer of 1348 wrote,
At every church they dug deep pits down to the water level; and thus those who were poor who died during the night were bundled up quickly and thrown into the pit; they then took some earth and shoveled it down on top of them; and later others were placed on top of them and then another layer of earth, just as one makes lasagna with layers of pasta and cheese.3
It not only underlines the crisis for a major European city, generated by the death of tens of thousands of people, but also demonstrates how, even in recording such a profound crisis, a chronicler might evoke a homely, if provocative, image of lasagna.4 People believed that the world was coming to an end. Who was to blame? Other religions, or was it God punishing people for their sins?
As a result of much death and destruction on a scale that people have never seen before, people began wondering if God had been punishing them all along. There was no safe haven for people, even in isolated Russia, for the Black Plague did not hesitate to take any lives—every one was a target.
In the same year [1346], God’s punishment struck the people in the eastern lands, in the town Ornach [on the estuary of the River Don], and in Khastorokan, and in Sarai, and in Bezdezh [at an arm of the River Volga], and in other towns in those lands; the mortality was great among the Bessermens, and among the Tartars, and among the Armenians and the Abkhazians, and among the Jews, and among the European foreigners, and among the Circassians, and among all who lived there, so that they could not bury them [sic]. 5
In fact, religious hatred and persecution was very inhumane and common. With the strong belief that other groups were responsible for the Plague, the methods involved in persecuting other religious groups were cruel. Some common examples were: burning, stoning, decapitation, and exile.
The Black Death was devastating. It had killed millions of people across Europe and Asia. Anarchy, fear, and insecurities dominated the landscape in Europe during the 1300’s.[ 5. Sharon N. DeWitte, “Age Patterns of Mortality During the Black Death in London, A.D. 1349–1350,” Journal of Archaeological Science 37, no. 12 (December 1, 2010): 3394-3400, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3094018/ (accessed October 12, 2016).]
- Andrew Lawler, “How Europe Exported the Black Death,” Science 352, no. 6285 (April 29, 2016): 501–2. ↵
- Encyclopedia Britannica, February 2015, s.v. “Black Death.” ↵
- Marchione Di Coppo Stefani, “The Florentine Chronicle,” 1903-1913, accessed, October 18, 2016. http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/osheim/marchione.html. ↵
- John Henderson, “Debating Death and Disease,” History Today 64, no. 4 (April 2014): 58–59. ↵
- Celestine Bohlen, “Diphtheria Epidemic Sweeps Russia,” The New York Times, January 29, 1993, sec. World, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/29/world/diphtheria-epidemic-sweeps-russia.html. ↵
76 comments
Abigale Carney
I have always heard of the black plague, but have never truly learned about it. This article did a great job in explaining the horror of the black plague, and most importantly how this plague effected the people in ways other than the disease. It is awful to read that some people who were thought to have the plague were buried alive, and in other instances some were even blamed to have caused this plague. Although this plague caused many issues, I feel that it has helped us grow as a society to realize that we are not always in control of what can be created around us, but we can always research and learn ways to fix these issues.
Cameron Lopez
I knew the Black Plague as this whole thing were it killed so many people and destroyed places. After reading this article I found it was much more than that and brought much more than just death. Like many people used this and blamed certain groups for causing the plague. There should of been a reason behind this why these people found the need to put the blame on other helpless victims to achieve whatever they were trying to achieve. It was a good thing this plague was ended because this could of been much worse. Much worse than it was already.
Engelbert Madrid
Unfortunately, thousands of people lost their lives due to the Black Plague, which was harsh in the way they ended dying. I also think that poor class families had a harsh time living in Europe, because they didn’t have any form of assistance due to their financial status. It’s crazy to imagine that some people were buried alive, because they had or were believed to have the plague. Although the article was short, it was still precise and accurate and it leaves the reader with a visual image of what happened during the Black Plague.
Joshua Garza
In a very descriptive article I learned how people reacted to the plague. People buried the dead poor down wells, people felt it was gods punishment for their sins in Europe and people thought other religions were at fault for the plague in Europe. I learned that the plague was not handled well in Europe but also I learned that there’s not really much that they could have done as far as medicine went. I think the most interesting fact is that Europe lost one third of their population due to the plague.
Bictor Martinez
Unfortunately for the people in the 1300s, many of them did not know they were carrying a deadly disease that will soon kill 200 million. It was extremely sad to have the plague at the time and knowing you were not able to do anything about it. Thankfully it has perished and hope that no disease cause such an impact such as this on. The bubonic plague may have wipe out a third of Europe, but this made Europe and others to come back even stronger. Great article.
Belene Cuellar
I can now understand how severe the black plague was and it’s disappointing to find out that many people used it to blame certain groups for causing this plague. There should be no reason on why these people found the need to place the blame on helpless victims to achieve some sick goal of theirs. I’m glad the plague finally came to an end, it’s just sad that not many lives were saved.
Esperanza Rojas
It was a good start to introduce the reasons why and how the Plague spread, and it introduced the topic itself very well. The article is well composed and I enjoyed the fact that there was a quote to add to the support of the story. It was interesting to read that many people blamed other religions and punished them for “supposedly” starting the plague and killing many of people. I only knew that many, for some time, stopped believing religion all together, because they believed that no God would kill them all like that.
Aneesa Zubair
I agree with what previous readers have said; the article is brief and might benefit from more information. However, it was still an interesting read, especially Marchione di Coppo Stephani’s chilling first-hand account. Based on his graphic description of mass death and burial, it’s not surprising that so many people believed they were being punished. It must have felt like the end of the world, with so much of the population getting sick and dying.
Michael Hinojosa
Despite how brief the summary of the plague is in this article the information presented about how many people it killed and how widespread the disease was able to travel was nothing short of horrific. As sad as it is to admit it I never really had the chance to learn about the plague growing up for reasons that are still unknown to me; but after reading this article I feel as if I have a better grasp of this horrific event than I did before!
Mariana Gonzalez
Although this article was good I felt like it needed more detailed information. On a different note I can only imagine how scared people across Europe and Asia must have felt to have family and friends just dying out of nowhere. It is ugly to now know the cause of something, people where so terrified and just looked to find reasons, such as the people thinking it was punishment from God. Scientifically it amazes me how easily such great deadly illness was spread so easily and so unnoticed.