The Impact of the Black Death
The Black Death killed 30-60% of the population of Medieval Europe. It took many countries over one hundred years to re-establish their population. After the Black Death ended labour was in very high demand and survivors' lives were much better. For English peasants who survived land was very plentiful, wages were much higher and serfdom disappeared. One hundred years later as the population increased again peasants were faced with more deprivation and famine.
Europeans lived with the plague for three centuries. Although there were three main pandemics, plagues affected somewhere in Europe during all this time. Wealthy people often bought country houses to escape the city when there was an outbreak. People such as beggars and lepers were often persecuted as being the cause. Everyone was looking for someone to blame. In some places where half the population died (eg London) everyone would have had a friend or relative affected. People were scared of infection, in the same way they worry about Ebola today. In London, if someone in your house had the plague, the door was sealed, and everyone died. Priests tried to care for people, so many of them died as well.
During plague times the price of food went up because there were less people who could grow crops and therefore less was available. Fields went unploughed and harvests were not brought in because rural people were sick, dying and just trying to support themselves. Animals would have gotten away because farmers wouldn't be around to tend them.
The Black Death killed 30-60% of the population of Medieval Europe. It took many countries over one hundred years to re-establish their population. After the Black Death ended labour was in very high demand and survivors' lives were much better. For English peasants who survived land was very plentiful, wages were much higher and serfdom disappeared. One hundred years later as the population increased again peasants were faced with more deprivation and famine.
Europeans lived with the plague for three centuries. Although there were three main pandemics, plagues affected somewhere in Europe during all this time. Wealthy people often bought country houses to escape the city when there was an outbreak. People such as beggars and lepers were often persecuted as being the cause. Everyone was looking for someone to blame. In some places where half the population died (eg London) everyone would have had a friend or relative affected. People were scared of infection, in the same way they worry about Ebola today. In London, if someone in your house had the plague, the door was sealed, and everyone died. Priests tried to care for people, so many of them died as well.
During plague times the price of food went up because there were less people who could grow crops and therefore less was available. Fields went unploughed and harvests were not brought in because rural people were sick, dying and just trying to support themselves. Animals would have gotten away because farmers wouldn't be around to tend them.
![Picture](/uploads/4/1/4/4/41440827/617498581.jpg)
People being wheeled to be buried after dying from the Black Death. The people who buried them were then demanding higher wage due to the lack of population.
http://jessica118.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/blackdeath.jpg
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Hundreds of dead bodies lying in the streets waiting to be buried.
http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9089048.ece/alternates/w620/black-death-ala.jpg
![Picture](/uploads/4/1/4/4/41440827/975003312.jpg?331)
A chart showing the population of Europe when the Black Death came.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ioz83fro694/TdXrFkjwqJI/AAAAAAAAARs/_vgzoZGjR-w/s1600/plagues-europe.jpg