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The Plague: The Black Death

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"Blood and pus seeped out of these strange swellings, which were followed by a host of other unpleasant symptoms–fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible aches and pains–and then, in short order, death," (“Black Death” 2010). These symptoms signified the arrival of the murderous infection; the Black Death. Prior to the outbreak, societies prospered with political stabilities and peacefulness. Just before the onset of the disease when crop failure began, the state of the society transitioned from utopia into a dystopia. Once the disease hit in Asia, it spread rapidly, killing everyone in its path. The disease spread, causing declining populations, chaos, pandemonium, and desperation. Much uncertainty surrounded how the Black Death ended. …show more content…

The plague reached Florence, Italy in 1347. (Corzine 33). A religious group located in Italy called The Compagnia della Misericordia, gathered the dead and take care of the sick. However, they were known to demand extreme prices for this service and some went to the extent of stealing whatever they wanted from the people not paying the debt. In addition, some of them "assaulted, raped and even murdered citizens," (Corzine 35). The plague spread rapidly with death following its path. When it first reached Europe, it killed "one-third to one half of the people in a few months," (Corzine 42). "The plague killed about 30 percent of the population in Normandy," (Corzine …show more content…

Some believed that it was God’s punishment. "...Many people believed that the Black Death was a kind of divine punishment–retribution for sins against God such as greed, blasphemy, heresy, fornication and worldliness," (“Black Death” 2010). Some people believed that the plague happened as a result of the planets (McGowen 36). There even were a few people who believed that air poisoning was the cause of the Black Death. They believed that Arabic medicine and treatment and the ancient medicine of a famous Greek poisoned the atmosphere (Wilson 435-438). Recently, scientists have figured out that the cause of this disease was “The bacilli, known today as Yersinia pestis,” (Corzine 27). Typically this disease only affected rats but the fleas that sucked the blood of the rats landed on humans, thus causing the Black Death. Then the rats, fleas, and humans spread it to other

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