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Black Death DBQ Essay

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Like many horrendous events that have altered the course of history, there always seem to be a scapegoat to point blame to. The Black Death of the 14th century was no different. The Europeans looked to religion to find answers of why the plague was taking place, why people were leaving this world, and why others were spared. But as stated before, an answer from a religious point of view would be that god is angry for the sins that were taking place during that century. From this analysis, it can be argued that this line of thought led the Europeans to cast blame on non-Christians--or more specifically people that were not Christendom, “People looked for answers [...] A scapegoat was needed since anger and frustration had to be focused. And …show more content…

It is no wonder that the Europeans felt that their economic environment was vulnerable and uneasy, “European economy slowly improved, and agriculture and manufacturing production eventually reached pre-famine levels” (Nelson, Insert Year). The economy impact of the Black Death must start with the historical context that the economy was not as sturdy as other time periods or European history. For this reason, the set back, economically speaking, was an enormous strain on European life. With population decreasing drastically, and the economy barely trying to recover from the famine, the Europeans suffered in terms of having workers to produce into the economy--especially to create food for what was left of the population. For these reasons, the Black Death took a major toll on the economy of Europe and created relentless heart ache, “Many people touched by the plague moved away from medieval cities and towns to unaffected areas. This was the negative impact [...] the prices of agricultural products increased. This inflation of prices stayed high until the end other century when prices began to fall” (Kries, 2006). This was devastating for peasants and landlords. The economic turmoil challenged the already difficult lives of the Europeans and led to a continuous dismantling of the economy that existed through the 14th century. It …show more content…

There is no question that hardship and scattering fear re-shaped the Europeans during the 14th century. To the Europeans, they were the generation that faced the true wrath of god. It was this rather that consumed them religiously, culturally, and economically. It is for these reasons, that the Europeans faced their downfall during this century at no fault of their own. Disasters have struck throughout history, but none so consequential or sparse and quickly as the Black Death of the 14th century. With the tremendous upheaval of the plague, history went on and faced new challenges with the following centuries. This brought forth a new era of exploration, modification, and industrialization that would change the makeup of the world at large and see a new beginning as the world was opening the door to the 15th

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