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How Did The Bubonic Plague Affect The Economy Of The Middle Ages

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The Bubonic Plague killed millions of Europeans in its time of reign (DeLeo and Hinnebusch 42). The Plague was a very catastrophic time period, and due to lack of medical knowledge, the mass contagion was blamed on the Jews, and many other stigmas were also created as a result. In light of the massive death, the overall social construct and economy of the Middle Ages was changed as well.
Context
In order to fully understand why the economy and other social aspects were changed during the middle age, it is vital to understand what the plague was life. There are various types of plague, and each one is caused by the yersinia pestis bacteria. This bacteria was spread by the oriental rat flea, which arrived in Europe via ship. The first …show more content…

However, he confessed this while being tortured. Although this confession may not be true, the majority of the population blew this rumor out of proportion, believing that all Jews were spreading the Plague. In many places, trials were not even held. According to Daniel Cohen, two thousand Jewish people were burned alive for being blamed for causing the Plague (59-60).
After a while, the persecution of the Jews began to fade, and this was due to one big realization: the Jews were getting sick too. Now the general population had no explanation for the mass contagion, so they turned to a different superstitious reasoning. They believed that the Plague was the wrath of God, and that it was the whole population’s fault. So many people tried to change their ways, minimizing sin. Eventually, this superstition ended as well when things only got worse (Cohen 64). Social and Economic …show more content…

Specifically, the wage to rent ratio changed. Before the Plague, the the population was relatively high, and therefore had competition for jobs. This competition can be displayed using the simple idea of supply and demand. For instance, since there was an elevated amount of supply and a relatively low amount of demand, they did not need to be paid as much. However, after the Plague reduced the population, the competition decreased. The supply and demand curve began to shift positions. For the time being, people were paid more, and eventually less, as a result of the less competition. Some companies/industry leaders needed work soon, and would pay higher wages as a result, while some didn’t have the money to pay workers anymore. The mass death put the economy of the Middle Ages in a volatile position, and industries had to pay smaller wages as a result

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