Before the Black Death

Throughout the later part of the Middle Ages, the population of Europe exploded. Agriculture increased in areas of established farmland, and developed further into areas that were previously wooded. This larger population required more food. Therefore, the land was used to exhaustion. Instead of leaving areas of land to rejuvenate from season to season, farmers continued to use the land until it lost all of its nutrients and fertility. In the mid 1300s, the Earth experienced a period of cooling that some call the Little Ice Age. While it technically was not an Ice Age, this cool period led to a shorter growing season, which in turn caused a shortage of food. Widespread famines across Europe prompted a massive decline in the population. However, the High Middle Ages was about to see an even more drastic decline.

The Black Death

Between 1347 and 1352, the people of Europe faced one of the worst pandemics in human history: the Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague. The bacterium yersinia pestis, caused the Black Death. It lives in fleas after they bite an infected rat. If these fleas bite human hosts, the disease spreads and can continue to spread to others. This pandemic impacted the economic and social structure of Europe, caused mass panic, decreased Europe's population, and disrupted trade. In this interactivity, you will learn more about the Black Death. Click the player button to begin.

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Death Toll

Coupled with the scarcity of farmland and famine, the Black Death caused a major decline in the world population during the Middle Ages. Due to the lack of reliable records, the exact death toll is difficult to calculate. However, an estimated thirty to sixty percent of the European population declined during this time. Specifically, the death toll for the plague is placed between seventy-five million and two hundred million people, with a death toll of twenty-five million people just between 1347 and 1352. While deaths from the bubonic plague started by 1352, several less severe recurrences existed after the initial epidemic.

The Church

The Black Death caused a decline in the power of the Church. During this dark time, people looked to the Church to save them. Since the Church had no answers to the plague, and could not help those who suffered, people began to lose faith. In addition, this time period prompted an increase in anti-Semitism in Europe. People blamed Jews for the plague, and started massacring them throughout Europe. In Strasbourg, Germany, a mob murdered an estimated two thousand Jews who were blamed for poisoning the wells with the plague.

Changes to the Feudal Structure

After the horrific death toll from the bubonic plague, farmland was plentiful, and people could buy land. Cities grew as peasants and surfs were freed from feudal obligations. With a shortage in labor due to so many deaths, serfs demanded increased wages, which led to social and political upheaval in Europe. In 1381, peasants revolted across large parts of England, including the city of London. This rebellion, known as the Peasants' Revolt, occurred after farmers had grown tired of high taxes, low wages, and the feudal system. They sought to remove some of the king's officials from office. Although the farmers lost, and the king ordered all serfs back into their previous arrangements, this marked a precursor to the end of the manor system.

In the summer of 1358, French farmers revolted for similar reasons. Small groups of invaders plundered areas of France, so French peasants, known as Jacquerie, grew upset over the lack of protection promised to them by nobility. After a few weeks, this rebellion was also put down.

 

The Black Death Review

Now that you have explored the Black Death, review your knowledge in this interactivity. Click the player button to get started.