Introduction
The Black Death, swept across Europe in the late 1340, was one of the most fatal epidemics in the history. It should be noted that the name ‘Black Death’ was created in later ages. Contemporaries didn’t have specific name for it but called it ‘plague’ or ‘epidemic’. The Black Death arrived in the ports of Europe first in 1347, and soon spread in all directions in the next three years, and brought immediate death to victims. The breakout of the Black Death was considered as punishment from god, but this essay will explore three main factors which create a specific circumstance for breakout and spread of the Black Death.
The Black Death killed 1/2-3/1 population of Europe and caused a sharp rise of death rates, which affected European economy from different aspects. As economist Gregory Clark points out, anything caused the rise of the death rate increased wealth per head of population. It seems the Black Death in European set a good example. The improvement of Living standards in European during 1350-1600 attributed to the
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Firstly, the breakout of plague required specific circumstance including climate, human social environment, insect and animal population. Increased crop yield and the climate change in mid-fourteenth century created a specific environment for the increasing number of rats, which made the risk of the animal outbreaks of plague in a high level. Furthermore, the growth of population in that period speed up the transmission between people and people. Trade was another key reason for the spread of the Black Death. Merchants brought the bacterium to other places through trade. In addition, trade routes also provided a network for rats to move for a long distance. It can explain why European ports was first invaded by the Black