Transmission-Plague

is widely considered as the second pandemic from the

Middle Ages (History-Plague). The bacteria causing this plague, Yersinia pestis, survives and spreads using rodents and their fleas (Transmission-Plague). Which is why this plague that started in 1334 had such a devastating blow. It started in China and spread along trade routes ending in Europe where overall it wiped out at least

60% of the population (History-Plague).

Before it even made its way completely to Europe the plague had already devastated India, Tartary, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Armenia (Abeji). At one point the Mongolian army was even throwing infected corpses into city walls to infect the town they were trying to siege, and then those inhabitants fled those cities further

spreading

With this mass movement of both the Mongolian army and traders along the trade route it was easy for plague-infested fleas to make its way into Europe and spread through the highly susceptible population.

Because of this high mortality rate the labor shortages sped up the development of Europe’s overall economic, social, and political modernizations

(History-Plague). This vast wipeout of the population dealt “a serious blow to the

Catholic Church, and resulted in widespread persecution of minorities such as Jews, foreigners, beggars, and lepers.”(Abeji). The community as a whole took to blaming

the heavens especially with monks and priests being hit so hard due to dealing with

Sydney Pitman

GEO261

Due Oct 16, 2015 plague victims (Abeji). People even resorting to self-harm as a way to heal themselves since the transmission and cure were unknown.

This plague was not choosy with its victims, and started to break down the social classes within Middle Age Europe. Because of the spread to not only the lower class but also to nobility the practice of feudalism was impossible to enforce. Tied to that economically was how the government was trying to keep job prices