Negative Effects Of The Black Death On Medieval Europe
The Black Death occurred in the fourteenth century, where a disastrous plague spread in Europe, leading to the death of many people. Millions of people died in Europe since the disease was challenging for the doctors at that time to manage. The deaths had a social, economic, political, and demographic impact. “Europe's encounter with the plague had economic, social, and religious effects that vastly changed European society and contributed to Europe’s emergence into the Renaissance, an age of exploration.” The Black Death also had negative effects on the environment and ecology of medieval Europe, which in turn impacted the society and economy.
One of the effects of the Black Death is the effect on ecology, whereby the population was reduced significantly by the death of many people. The ecology was affected because the people used to contribute to different factors of the ecology, such as farming. Medieval Europe people used to keep animals and consume the foods that they produce. Every person contributed to different aspects of the ecology; hence, when they died, the ecology was disrupted. There was an economic consequence of the death of the people. The economy of Europe was affected negatively because the people who died used to contribute to economic development through labor. The economy of Europe fell, and the government spent a huge amount of money to take care of the medical bills. The society was disrupted because families lost their loved ones.
The Black Death led to de-urbanization because the people believed that those living in urban centers were at higher risk of getting infected by the disease than the people who lived in rural areas. Other villages that were at higher risk were abandoned by people who fled to other areas. The economic effect was that companies and industries had no employees to work and produce goods and services; hence, the cause of stunted economic growth. Some companies stopped their operations; therefore, the revenue generated by the state reduced significantly. The economy crashed because of the businesses no longer. Some people moved from their villages to other villages because they feared to get the disease that was approaching. The people abandoned their activities and the animals that they used to keep hence interfering with the ecology. Domestic animals like cows were left to die by being attacked by world animals. The families could no longer support their families, which is an economic challenge because the people had to rely on other people to survive since they never engaged in any economic activity. The society was disrupted when people moved from the villages where they used to live.
There was also a general abandonment of agricultural activities by the people who died and their family members who had to abandon agriculture to take of their loved ones attacked by the disease. Europe was not industrialized by the time Black Death occurred; therefore, when the people abandoned their agricultural activities, there was a shortage of supply of agricultural products to the people living in urban centers. When the farmers abandoned their farming activities, the ecology was impacted because the farm produce that used to be supplied to people living in urban centers stopped farming. More farms got abandoned, leading to a crisis of food shortage.
The people who lost their loved ones because of the disease were affected emotionally, which in turn influenced their production capacity. Although there are people who did not die because they were not infected with the disease, they had to take care of their loved ones who were sick. The people who were taking care of the sick could no longer engage in any economic activity. The failure of the family members to engage in any economic activity while they were taking care of their loved ones led to negative effects on the economy because there was a reduction in the number of people engaged in economic activities.
In the fourteenth century, the wealth of the people and the community was measured in the form of agriculture fortunes; hence, the Black Death affected the productivity of the people that impacted the economy of Europe negatively. The people could no longer save their wealth because they spent the little farm produce that they had saved when their loved ones got ill. The majority of the people died used to provide labor on the farms that could lead to the production of foods that the people used to produce. The disease killed many families, and the land that they used to irrigate was no longer productive. The society overall was affected negatively because the people did not have enough food to eat.
The Black Death also displaced many people who were moving out of their villages for fear of contracting the disease. Many people fled to different neighboring countries around Europe, hoping that the places where they fled to be safe. This led to the displacement of families because people did not migrate with their families. Parents and children got mental torture when they could no longer trace their loved ones because they were not sure whether the loved ones were alive or dead — the European society as disrupted by the migration of the people to countries outside the European member countries.
Governments also spent huge amounts of money trying to run the health facilities that hosted the sick people as well as purchasing drugs for the sick. The more doctors were required to handle the situation leading the expenditure of the money that could be spent doing other work. The growth of the affected countries stalled because the authorities had spent all their resources trying to help the sick rather than engaging in developments. The economy of the affected communities and countries took long to recover and for activities to resume normalcy. The communities and the government took long to fund various activities that it engages in.
The Black Death led to resistance from the rulers who declined workers' demand for increased wages. There was a disagreement between the lords who owned vast lands in Europe and the peasants who provided labor in their farms. Many people died as a result of the plague, and the supply of peasants significantly decreased. The demand for people to plow the land and harvest the crops had increased, thereby making the peasants demand an increase in wages.
The European rulers were determined to ensure that the wages were not increased. A 1349 English law tried to make the peasants work for the same wages they had been working for since 1346. To facilitate the supply of laborers in the farms, a Statute of Laborers was issued in 1351, requiring any person who is unhealthy and unemployed and below 60 years to work for anyone who approaches them for a job. Every person was expected to follow the statute, and any person who violated it was severely punished or asked to pay high fines. The punishments intensified in 1360 as workers who demanded a rise in wages were prisoned, and in the event, they escaped, they were branded as fugitives by having a letter 'F' written on their forehead. However, the scarcity of workers eventually led to an increase in wages. Many people died as a result of the plague, but the farming land remained the same. Many farm owners started paying the workers with food or other nonmonetary wages.
The plague caused inflation because it was challenging to produce goods. Both locally produced goods, as well as those imported, were extremely expensive. Illness and death led to a scarcity of workers, and the farm owners felt the impact of the demand for higher wages. Any farm did not own the farmworkers so that any master could hire a worker. Masters considered paying the workers better wages, and the standards of living subsequently improved.
The Black Death also contributed positively to research where medical professionals were under pressure to come up with a medication that could cure the disease that was killing many people. The Black Death contributed to the development and discovery of modern medicine that treats diseases that people suffer from today. The discovery of modern medicine contributed to the growth of the medical field, and the sales of the drugs generate income for the various companies that were established to produce the drugs. The production of the drugs improves the economy by hiring employees that earn income and therefore improving the general wellbeing of the employees hired by the companies.
The Black Death disrupted the population growth, and Europe had to take a couple of years to recover and for people to be born. Enough population is required to work in different sectors of the economy; the death of the people slowed the economic growth of the European Union because there were no people to work in the new economy where different sectors of the economy began to industrialize. The cities got drained and abandoned by the people who died from the epidemic. The more people that a city has, the higher the growth rate of the city and the entire economy in general.
The Black Death strengthened the power and influence of the Church among the people as well as the influence of the “People would turn to the Church for help, guidance, and healing. The Church controlled medical practice as clergy members were the only permitted medical practitioners”. The people desperately required for a spiritual being that would help the people go through the challenge that was bought by the plague disease. The people prayed to God for guidance on how they could find the cure of the disease that was threatening to wipe the entire population through death. The people also wanted the state to be in more control over the affairs of the state because they believed that the state had a role to play in improving and maintaining the health of the people.
The Black Death also brought social tensions among the people who feared got infected by their friends that showed any signs of infection by the plague disease. The tensions were mainly between the local people and the people from other regions of the world where the people believed was the source of the disease. The people believed that the foreigners who come to Thailand via the Silk Road from china are the ones who had brought the plague. The social tensions were not good for the people because they created suspension and among the people.
The health facilities were overwhelmed by the high number of people who were seeking health services; hence, the local people and the state recognized the importance of having enough health facilities that would ensure Europe is ready for any eventuality that would happen. The people were not sure whether they could overcome the epidemic or they were going to die all. People were losing hope of getting the cure for the disease, and the government was under pressure to find the solution to the problem.
More people began to have an interest in medicine to come up with solutions that would help the people in treating the deadly disease” Medical practice and health protocols improved after the pandemic. While the medical practice was still outlawed for those not affiliated with the Church, more people turned to independent practitioners, allowing exploration into treatments extending beyond Church doctrine.. People who saw their loved ones die desperately with no help began to have a passion for getting skills that they could help people not to suffer because of diseases. They hoped that sick people could be helped by giving medications that could relieve pain.
There is an economic effect where the few people that survived the epidemic had to come up with innovations to fill the gap that was left by the people who died from the plague. The people innovated new ways of dealing with the challenges that came up. They were determined to fill the gap that was left by the people who had died. “Although the worker population decreased because of the plague, the amount of land and the tools did not change much. Some farm animals died when the people who took care of them died”. The innovations included new farming techniques that were meant to improve the productivity of the few employees available for farming. The innovation was also incorporated in the industries where the employees used to work. The industries began to embrace technologies that replaced human labor and made production efficient.
In conclusion, the Black Death hurt the European economy as it leads to the death of millions of people. Many children were left as orphans while other people lost their loved ones. The economy and the society were affected by the Black Death, and the people who survived the epidemic had to come up with new strategies through the innovation of filling the gap that was left. The state began to understand the importance of being prepared for the epidemics through proper planning. There was an economic challenge left by the people who died because the families had to take care of them; they spent all their resources taking care of the sick.
