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
Hector Garcia
The Bubonic Plague has been by for one of the deadliest diseases that has ever existed. It managed to lay waste one third of Europe’s population in a matter of seven years. It is shocking to see that something almost as mas as 1 micrometer could put the trading of Europe at a halt. What I found most interesting about this article would be that the Bubonic Plague originated from Asia.
Julian Aguero
I couldn’t imagine what people were thinking at the time of the Plague. It must have felt like the end of the world for so many people. It’s amazing to think that the Plague killed off multiple generations of families that will never be and eliminated further generations to come. It’s astonishing to think of how deadly the Plague was and still have families to come out alive. The people who surveyed the Plague must have seen it as a miracle from God.
Samuel Ruiz
After reading a similar article by Angelica Espinoza, I read this article and was happy to find more information about the Bubonic Plague. While Angelica talked about the history, Yesenia gave great insight into the effects that this plague had throughout the entire eastern hemisphere. I also like that she gave insight into how people had felt at the time in regards to whether or not God had planned such a disaster or not.
Destiny Flores
The Bubonic Plague is such a known topic in history and now I see why! 200 million people-dead. That’s a lot. I find it unnerving that people were just thrown onto pits on top of one another. People were dropping dead everywhere, and so quickly, that they weren’t even given the respect of a proper burial. The article was very informative, nice addition of geological map. It helped get an idea of just how far this disaster spread.
Christopher King
I was not aware of the process of the plagues expansion and how far across the continent it had reached. I knew that it had killed a huge percentage of the population. With the domination of religion being the explanation for everything in the world there was no science that could have been used to help this. Instead from what I have learned was that they put the sick often in quarentine on islands and such and let them die.
Noah Laing
I’ve learned about the Bubonic Plague in school, books, and movies, therefore I found this article to be a nice summary of people’s perception of the plague during it’s largest outbreak. The example of how infected bodies were piled on top of each other like “lasagna” I found very gruesome but also interesting technique. Also, the perception that certain religious groups and that the Plague could be a punishment from God, I think turned people on one another during a time that people really needed to work together.
Evian-loren Salgado
This was a very interesting article about the Black Plague. It showed how devastating the Black Plague was to Europe and Asia as well as the panic that went on. The article even showed the effects the plague had on trade. The author really painted and image by comparing the graves of the dead to lasagna. Something I’m probably not going to forget. Overall this was a well written, very interesting and informative article.
Johnanthony Hernandez
The Bubonic Plague has interested me for a while, especially since there is a large misconception that it died out. Even though there are still small outbreaks worldwide, we haven’t seen as large of an issue with it for centuries. It still goes down as one of the deadliest pandemics in history in both Europe and Asia before the Spanish Flu hit six centuries later.
Oceane Roux
Thank you for this article! I didn’t know anything about this disease and what happened to these people before reading this article.I really feel sorry for these people that did not have access to health care and died from this disease. The article was truly informative and the pictures, while extremely disturbing, do a good job representing the atrocity that occurred.
Crystalrose Quintero
I really appreciated that the article provided a visual to depict how the plague spread around the world. I never realized that the black plague had some influence in giving strength to powers like the eastern hemisphere. It gave a new point of view for looking at the plague. I appreciate that the article had quotes from that time period to show how it was affecting people