Harun Vemulapalli 5-24
Q3 Benchmark Constructed Response
Prompt: Explain the effects of the Bubonic Plague on Medieval Europe
The Bubonic Plague effected Medieval Europe in many ways.
One way the Bubonic Plague effected Medieval Europe is that it caused one third of Europe's population to die due to the sickness spreading rapidly. For example, in Document 4, the chart includes, In all of Europe there were 53.2 million people there, but after the Plague, however, the population decreased about 30 percent leading the Post-Plague population to be 37 million. This piece of evidence shows how the Bubonic Plague effected Europe because it shows a serious decline in population which was 30% or one-third percent. The Plague spread rapidly by
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For example, in Document 3, it includes,"In 1381, some 35 years after the Black Death had swept through Europe decimating over one third of the population, there was a shortage of people left to work the land...Recognizing the power of ‘supply and demand’, the remaining peasants began to re-evaluate their worth and subsequently demanded higher wages and better working conditions." This proves that the Plague caused more revolts by peasants because when a lot of people died, there weren't many people to be serfs or peasants, therefore they realized that without them, Europe would not function efficiently. They realized that they are worthy and that they should have more wages and better conditions. For example, it was like a few gas station employees wanting to strike because their manager wasn't paying them enough. As they wanted more wages they started revolts against the government and the lords and as they protested the government realized that they we in trouble. So the next day the lords and the bishops passed a law that did not allow and wage raise. Well this made the peasants madder than before. They burned down government buildings didn't pay taxes and etc.
In conclusion, the Bubonic Plague effected Medieval Europe in many ways as referenced by the documents