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Welcome to AP European History
The Black Death, an epidemic of plague in Europe that lasted from 1347 to 1351, resulted in the deaths of almost one-quarter of Europe’s population. The Black Death was the first in a cycle of plagues in Europe that continued into the 18th century. Shown here, the French city of Marseille is devastated by a later outbreak of plague. Renaissance achievements happened despite the severe loss of life and the economic and political effects of the plague.
120 comments:
It may be assumed that the Black Death took a great punch at the medieval economy of Europe because there was a shortage of labor and there was less trade, but it actually increased the per capita wealth of medieval countries. Guilds also accepted more people because all of their old members were dying, and because of the shortage of labor, the remaining workers could make bargains with their bosses because the supply of workers was scarce.
YEEEEEEAAAAHHHHH i'm the first person to respond to the first blog assignment on AP Euro!!! 08-)
Response to The Ferrari Hustla:
The major social and economic consequences of the Black Death were well explained and identified. I agree that the Black Death did cause a shortage of labor due to the high mortality rates, and I also agree with the fact that there was a sharp increase in per capita wealth. However, I think that you should elaborate a little more about why there was an increase in per capita wealth. Why do you think that there was an increase in per capita wealth? But other than that, the comment you made was overall very good.
The major impact of the Black Death on late Medieval Europe’s economy was that the high death rate produced shortages of goods, fall in production, and a rise in prices. The economy in towns suffered greatly, while the countryside was less affected. Laborers enjoyed higher wages as the supply of workers greatly declined. Throughout most of Europe the cost of sausage, cheese, meat, and wheat increased. Due to the decline in population, a better balance between capital, land, and labor led to increased productivity.
With the Black Death killing 1.4 million in all, there was an accelerated economic decline and brought general European inflation. In the urban towns and cities it was a lot more crowded, enabling the Black Death to spread like ramped and drastically reducing the population in those parts. The great population loss meant less people to work on the farms and in the businesses creating a big drop in general productivity. Less goods and crops meant a raise in the prices and a decline in trade. Though, this brought a higher per capita wealth, due to the demands for labor a higher pay was accepted.
Response to Brooke Demiranda:
Your response to the Black Death's causes for economic decline had hit all the major points and had good cause and effects of the destruction it made on the economy at the time. It would be good though to mention more about the per capita wealth and why it led to an increase in productivity.
The impact from the Black Death was an increase in per capita wealth, job opportunities, and in prices of food. The reason for the increase in the per capita tax and job opportunities is because of the decline of the population. During the Black Death, one third of the population died from the plague. The increase for the prices of food was because of the fall of production and trade decline. The trade was not very active at the time because of the fear of the spread of disease.
The Black Death had a major effect on the economy. The Black Death led to increased productivity by re-establishing a more economical balance between labor, land and capital. The major population decline that the Black Death caused brought about a drop in production, scarcity of food, a boost in price and a sharp rise in per capita wealth the cities and towns suffered significantly more because of the greater population than the rural areas where they were less effected by the Black Death. Prices of goods went up as well as the price of slaves.
The Black Death caused major problems in Medieval Europe. The illnesses caused a sharp decrease in the population, and the birth rate dropped. In terms of the arts, written language was almost lost. The Christian church suffered a great deal. It lost prestige, spiritual authority, and leadership over the people. The society structure began to change giving formally poor laborers more say. The peasants and artisans demanded higher wages. There wasn’t enough law enforcement, so people became unruly. Banks had failed and they couldn’t lend or pay back debts. The landlords were starting to loose their properties in different areas. The prices were going up on slaves as well as other products. The landlords were starting to loose there properties in different areas.
Response to James Krolopp:
In your response to the topic you talked about all the crucial components to the economic factors of the Black Death. You hit all the key parts about the decline in population and productivity. Although, I think it would be beneficial to mention more about the balance the Black Death brought on and other positive factors.
The Black Death impacted the medieval economy greatly. The plague made people very weak, which impacted the way they worked. When the people became weak they became unable to work, which greatly affected agriculture because the people that worked on the farms could not tend to the crops. In the 14th century 25% of harvests were lost, resulting in less food for people, and leading to starvation. Resulting from this epidemic one-third of Europe’s population was lost. It also caused inflation all over Europe. That was caused because of the high death toll that produced the fall in production, shortage of goods, and the rise in prices. The people that still worked demanded for higher wages, which resulted in the Statute of Laborers. The years after the Black Death new colleges appeared and education started to increase.
Harrison Rolfes
Period 4
9/27/06
Black Death
Because of the Black Death it caused a major decrease in agriculture, the economy, and labor. With these three disadvantages it caused a loss in trade, making it so no one could import or export goods. Since there was no people no one could run a guild or farm to produce agriculture to sell for money. Without all the supplies it started a chain of continuous downfall starting with people, to food, to trade, and then to the outside world. With that disability it also affected the economy and trade from all over Europe.
The vast depopulation during the Black Death had a great affect because of the shortage of labor, but for those who were not infected, conditions were actually better.There was an increase in per capita wealth. Also, humans and animals alike were malnourished, decreasing the productivity of agriculture and eventually, trade.
Response to Harrison:
Although I think many of your topics were true, I think it was exaggerated a bit. Although there was a decrease in agriculture it did not come to a complete stand still and guilds still were running but just had to increase their recruitment. But, as I said before, the main ideas were very much true.
Response to Harrison:
Although I think many of your topics were true, I think it was exaggerated a bit. Although there was a decrease in agriculture it did not come to a complete stand still and guilds still were running but just had to increase their recruitment. But, as I said before, the main ideas were very much true.
Response to Taylor M.
While it is true that the black death greatly affected the society in negative ways it didn't always lead to starvation and more death. Because of the lack of people many people became much richer, and farmers did not have to provide food for as many people. There was a better balance between labor, land, and capital.
Sam Parks
period 5
The black death led to an increase of money per capita, which led to a more comfortable life for many people who before were very low in class. In some areas in Europe there was a huge labor shortage because of the lives taken by the black death, this lead to a drastic increase in the price of slaves. In the city Tana 78% of export earnings came purely from slaves(around the year 1408).
Although one third of Europe’s population died in correspondence to the Black Death it led to a medieval peak in seigneurial prosperity. The population decline caused an increase in per capita wealth, a sharp rise in prices but also led to a more efficient balance between labor, land, and capital. Because of the overpopulation in the early fourteenth century the losses of the Black Death also helped Europe gain productivity. The general inflation in Europe produced a fall in production, inadequacy of goods and increase of prices.
We all know about all of the loss of life that the Black Death caused in Europe, but few of us have talked about some of the more positive economic results of the Black Death. Because of the massive decrease of population more land was available for cheaper prices and the peasants got higher wages and more food then before. We know that the prices increased sharply because of the decrease in production, but the wages also increased and people made a higher income to make up for the inflation. An increase in meat and dairy was a result from the open farmland, making more room for cattle. More colleges came about and an increase in education followed.
Response to Parks:
I think your answer was very well written but I think you could have added some informaton about the effects it had on all people in europe. Also how it effected the wealthy as well as the poor.
Responding to Daniel Noto of Period 5 Advanced Placement Europe course at Corona del Mar High School:
I wanted to congratulate you on bringing up a topic that had not been discussed. When most people think about The Black Death a negative thought comes to mind, but you looked on the bright side and brought up some good information. Especially about the increase in wages making up for the inflation. Way to go.
JD
P.S. If you are reading this, take a second and check out my awsome profile.
Response to Athena:
Even though it is true that the Black Death caused a fall in goods and production, how did those effects affect other parts of Europe? I like how you used per capita wealth to explain the positive outcome.
europe's economy took a toll when the black death spread across everywere. first of all the peasents started to get sick with the plauge and they were the people working in the fields to produce the food for the towns. and since there was no one to produce the food, it became scarce. eversince food was getting higher in price and no one had a good income to buy food and other neccisaries because people were out of their jobs. the ecomomy was going down fast and no one could do anything about it. 1/3 of europe's population was lost because of sickness.
The aftermath of the Black Death proved diastrous on the European economy but it did bring a few positive reforms as well. For example, while there was a steep drop in production of goods, the per capita wealth of the average European was increased. There was an inflation of prices for general goods however, guilds were starting to accept more members. For an event that killed approximately one-third of Europe, people were enjoying some benefits from it.
The Black Death caused1.4 million people to die, which led to an increased productivity because the balance of labor, land, and capital was restored. The loss in population made the economic organizations and guilds try to recruit more members to keep the numbers strong. The members were no longer related to each other because they wanted their numbers up. The Europeans experienced inflation. The rate of people dying was high so there was a fall in production, shortage of goods, and a rise in prices. Laborers wanted higher pays because they had to work harder and longer. The European economy was setback because of the Black Death.
Response to Tess Crane
You listed many facts that were true about the Black Death. However, even though the plague killed so many people and brought either misery or death to almost everyone in Europe, there were a couple of positives. For instance the per capita wealth and higher wages were some positives.
After the Black Death, only about two-thirds of the European population was left alive. Many people have written about how the lowered productivity was so important because of the loss of workers. In my opinion, the lowered productivity was not as important everyone is saying. A third of the population was gone; therefore you do not need as much food because of the drastic drop in population size. Although all the deaths were very drastic, it did not have a huge negative effect on the economy.
Response to Daniel Noto
Nicely done. You covered many of the economic benefits. I do think, however, that you could've touched more on why the prices went up when the population decreased.
obviouslythe population decreased bc people died.
Fantastic post JD, I agree 100%. Since alot of the population was gone there was not as great of stress on the agriculture industry to create mass amounts of food. Also, there were more jobs available to those who needed them.
The Black Death affected all of Europe. About a third of the population died. There was a shortage of labor, and workers demanded higher wages that their lords were not willing to give. There was an inflation of prices which caused peasants to revolt. People were also emotionally affected by the plague because family and friends would abandon them once they were infected.
The black death, although a tragic and disatorous occurance, actually had a bright outcome for the economy.As already mentioned, the black death produced an overall higher per capita wealth and the availabiltity of jobs due to death brought new people to get involved in differnet occupications. In a way, the black death was kind of like a revival for the economy.
The Black Death created many problems in Europe, but it also dealt with some issues. It killed off a third of the population which was a huge blow to the economy, but it dealt with the problem of the overpopulated cities. The Black Death took many more lives in these overcrowded cities than in the countryside due to the fact that it was a contagious disease that could be spread from person to person. Late medieval economy was already on a decline, but the plague accelerated this. In the end though, the plague ended up creating a balance between capital, labor, and land.
Response to maddie T.
I really like how you mentioned the guild workers and the impact the Black Death had on them. The reason for the fall in production, the rise of prices, and the shortage of goods was not only because of the rate of the deaths, but the population decline as a whole.
Matt, I think that you are misunderstanding the people , myself included, that are saying that the black death was not a terrible economic tragedy. We are not saying that it was an overall positive outcome for anyone we're just stating some of the positive economic aspects that came from the black death. Everyone has stated that we know many people died and that that was bad but some good might be able to turn out from that.
The Black Death affected the economy in many ways, most of which were negative but some that were positive. First of all, it caused an increase of per capita wealth and solved the overpopulation problem that had become an issue. Before, there had been many unemployed people because there simply weren’t enough jobs, but with one-third of the population wiped out, this was no longer a problem. However it also caused a decrease in trade because of the lack of food production going on at the time. Although the Black Death was the direct cause for all of these reasons, it really just accelerated the economic decline that had begun in the early 14th century.
Response to Doug Watt
All of your information was correct and much of it was similar to mine. However I think you could have given a few more specific examples/reasons. It would have strengthened your argument.
The Black Plague had significant consequences on European society during the Middle Ages. It had major economic repercussions throughout Europe and can be thought of as the root of capitalism. With an abrupt deficiency of cheap labor, landlords received an incentive to compete for peasants in the form of freedoms and wages. In the aftermath of the Great Plague, surviving peasants gained power in that they could leave current employment to find better pay and higher positions that were previously off limits. As peasants attempted to close the gap between the nobility and the peasantry, Sumptuary Laws began to be placed by in order to maintain the social hierarchy. In direct result of that, peasant uprisings such as the 1381 English Peasant Revolt occured.
Matt, I'm on Daniel's side of this argument. Obviously no good can come out of dead people, they are dead. But the people that are still alive can create something positive.
Response to Doug Watt:
Amazing Doug. You are able to sum up the Black Death in a short, informative paragraph. I like it how you said the Black Death was like a revival for the economy. That is true in many aspects.
Sorry to intervene with the JD/Matt/Daniel fight but I would have to agree with JD and Daniel. Yes, matt it is true that dead people can't do anything and that they have a negative effect on the overall life of the middle ages. However, matt's arguing has gone too far and he should realize that out of EVERY negative thing comes a POSITIVE thing. Like everyone has said, the black death helped to boost the economy and stopped the population from becoming excessively large.
P.S. Matt this is a history blog not a puppy blog!!!
Matt, sorry about your dog I'm not trying to be mean, but if your dog had the plague then you'd risk playing with your dog when your dog has a highly contagious disease and could kill you and then you could spread the disease to others and they could spread it to others, you see this pattern so u playing with your dog might wipe out 1/3 of the nation.
Very nice comment, Daniel.
Economically, the Black Death had a positive influence in Europe. This was mainly because the Black Death took care of Europe’s overpopulation in the early fourteenth century. This “led to increased productivity by restoring a more efficient balance between labor, land, and capital.” The Plague also forced guild members to recruit new members, including people who were not related to current members. Inflation was brought along by the Black Death as well. The population decrease led to less production, which led to less goods, and then higher prices. But, the rise in wages rose faster than the inflation of goods. The higher wages was caused by the shortage in workers, and allowed people to enjoy “a higher standard of living.” In short, the Black Death, while destroying Europe socially, and psychologically, was very beneficial to the economy.
The Black Death affected the economy in all of Europe. The plague killed one third of the population. Many of workers and farmers were killed from the plague, so food became scarce which therefore raised the food prices. A decline in trading because of the possibility of spreading the disease from importing and exporting goods, also resulted in food price increase. There were increased job opportunities because of loss of population and need for jobs. Another result was increase of per capita wealth do to population decline.
The Bubonic Plague (Black Death) started in the early 1330s. The plague started from fleas that hitch hiked on the back of rodents and those rodents traveled everywhere that there was food so it went straight for the big cities. Anyone that came into contact with the flea got the plague as many as 1/3 of all of Europe’s population was wiped out. This meant that there were very few people to work on the farms and around the cities. A drop in people meant that the food that was brought in would drastically decline. Even though many people died there was a good thing about the plague. It brought a sturdier capital and a wealthier one too. With many people dead there were great needs of workers so the wages went up and most people became richer during the Black Death.
Dumb computer wont show the button to respond to someone's comment so....yea....this is a response to Taylor M.
I think that it is great that you explained the cause and effect chain that occured because of the mass deaths. I think you covered everything well but could elaborate more on the rise in prices and low supplies (inflation like you said) because inflation had major economic effects
Im saying if your dog was alive, because remember you said that people abandoned others, so would you abandon your dog and try and stay away from the disease or would you keep the dog and like I said maybe kill 1/3 of the population. I also totally agree with molly this blog is not about pringles, and I'm done with this argument its getting totally one-sided against you.
Response to Sarah Goodmanson:
Your post was very good, it explained the many effects of the Black Death, and was very well written. But, I believe you could have added more on the need for workers, like how wages increased and guilds started allowing more people to join. However, I like how you included that there was an increase in per capita wealth because that was a major thing economically that happened after the Black Death.
In Response to Melanie Dadvar:
Melanie- I think your answer was very well written, and touched many of the effects of the plague. I know that it had many bad effects on Europe’s economy and the people, but have you thought about the economic benefits?
Response to Sarah Goodmanson:
Sarah very nice comment you almost got everything that happened on the Black Plague in a mere 50 words. I still think that you could have added that the job opportunities made the citizens that might not have had a chance to gain lots of money now had that chance because of the demand of laborers. Other than that I think that you got it all.
The Black Death caused the death of 1.4 million people. Although this took a huge chunk out of the economy, a few positive things arose. Because of the absence of field hands, the productivity of crops declined, which led to the inflation of European goods. However, this also increased the per capita wealth of society, and the inflation did not make as big of an impact because people were receiving higher incomes.
Briefly explain the impact of the Black Death on Europe's late medieval economy.
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During the High Middle Ages, European life improved due to new agriculture developments. Once the Black Death occurred, food production decreased as the farmers that cultivated the crops on the manors, etc, began to die. This caused a dominoe chain effect in which a famine took over the majority of the population. Another outcome of the Black Death was the downfall of guilds, in which family members no longer worked in their guild, because of the many deaths in the family and overall population. Crop lands became desolet as they were neglected, resulting in a great demand for labor. The outcome of this shortage was PCW, in which land prices increased, changing the European economy drastically.
Though many of these things were already covered, I tried to cover things that weren’t very much, so here it goes:
The Bubonic Plague was brought over to Western Europe through Asiatic trade during the early 1300's. Carried and spread through fleas on black rats, the plague came in two forms: bubonic and pneumonic. The difference between the two was that the bubonic came directly from the fleas, while the pneumonic was spread from person to person. Since the personal hygiene was extremely low during that time, bodies were weakened to any serious disease. Hospitals were scarce and filled up with dying people, and with no cure for the plague, all they could do is ease the pain. The plague spread all throughout Europe up until the late 1400's and brought other problems besides death.
chelsea p, i think you did a great job on covering all the things that were not explained better or even mentioned on all of the other posts. However, I think you should have explained more about what happened to the people once they got the plague, what their symptoms were, and what the hospitals did with the people.
The Black Death caused many economic problems in Europe. It killed off one third of the population, which lead the economy to spiral downward. The european cities were already overpopulated and the disease spread very quickly from person to person. But, their were some positives; the losses helped Europe gain productivity and it created a balance between labor, land, and capital.
Response to Melanie Dadvar
Yes, Melanie I agree that it must have been very hard for the people who were losing their family members due to the illness. On top of the stress of being black balled, they could no longer turn to the church for support, because the church was becoming weaker and weaker. The church was traditionally a huge part of people's life and support during this time. I am sure that to not have this support, must have made this even more of a difficult time.
In Response to Katie DeMiranda:
Great description of the overall ecomonic effects!
Very well written, and you covered a lot of the points in a small paragraph. The only thing that you could have done is talk about the trade issues caused by the plague, such as inflation and poor agricultral trade. Good Job!
Response to Alexa:
I totally agree with your respose about the Black Death's impact on the medieval economy. You explained all the major points of the effects on the economy. I also agree with the key parts you mentioned about prices of goods and slaves going up.
Black Death. One of the most terrible plague which raged through Europe, killing everyone in its path. But there was some good news. Although nobody saved any money by switching to Geico, average per capita wealth did increase, due to the fact that less labors and an equal amount of work leads to $$$$. Yes, the (shall we say more fairly) "Grey" Death had some slightly bad effects on the economy. You would expect that, given it killed many farmers responsible for growing food, causing people to starve. It also killed trade and tourism, because who wants to go to a place where 1. There are no goods to trade and 2. You might get the plague? But really, the effects of the plague were mostly positive, from an economic standpoint. Guilds, with many members killed, were forced to take on outsiders. New universities were opened. And for the first time in God-knows-when, the peasants could actually demand better living conditions and get them.
The Black Death caused many economic and psychological problems for Europe. It killed one-third of Europe's population, all European port cities were quarantined, brought a general inflation and the German church fell into the hands of the weak and incompetent. There was also an overwhelming psychological over the population. people would abandon friends or family who had the disease. There were also positive effects of the Black Death. It led to increased productivity by restoring a more efficient balance between labor, land and capital.
In Response to Riley Peters:
I totally agree with your response about the Black Death's impact on Europe's economy. The only thing I don't agree with is that you said the Black Death killed everyone in its path. That's not necessarily true because some people got the black death but did not die from it.
Response to katie D.
I agree with you response and think it was very well wriiten. You covered many inportant key topics about the Black Death. I especially liked how you mentioned the positive and negative outcomes the Black Death brought.
Response to A.I.
Good for you for understanding the bright side of the Black Death. You point out numerous examples, all of which are true. My only slight problem with your post is that about the only negative thing you put on is that people died. There were a few other negative things, like inflation and the widspread killing of Jews.
The Black Death was responsible for many changes in the Medieval economy. Indeed, the fact that so many people died resulted in a massive spike in per-capita wealth, causing many people to have much more money. Trade declined, as a result of the reduced population, quarantining and an increase in inflation. Labour wages and prices significantly increased also.
To paraphrase what Riley Peters said, there was silver lining to the cloud that was the Black Death. I agree, and I would like to add that these factors, amongst others may have been directly responsible for the renaissance. For example, with labour wages higher, and with less people, the remaining must have been seen as more valuable, resulting in the renaissance concept of individuality. Perhaps the death of 1/3 the population of Europe was an over positive thing...
During the Black Death, Europeans experienced one of the most horrific periods of the Middle Ages. Death was rampant, while the only cures were picked out of the sky. However, the tragedy of the Black Death was not a downfall for everyone; economically it created a far wealthier society, where the average persons’ per-capita wealth soared. It can be assumed that a percentage of those who survived the plague were indeed happy to have come out with there lives, but also with a pocket full of cash.
The Black Death made many tragic impacts in Europe, especially to their economy. When the Black Death struck, quickly people died, and people need for jobs became vast. Since there were fewer jobs, the percapita wealth became higher, and the slave prices had gone up to where only the rich lords and nobles could afford them. Probably one of the only good things that came from the Black Death was the population, because without it, Europe would be way overpopulated.
Response to Peterson Walrod:
I agree about the part where you said "..so many people died, resulted a massive spike in per-capita wealth. But just to add one more thing, i would have added that the Slave prices went up (since you were talking about labor)
Response to Harrison Rolfes:
Although you have stated a few important points, I must disagree with the way you grouped topics together. The Black Death did if fact decrease the agricultural productivity of the European continent, but it did not decrease the economy, and to say it decreased the labor is not 100% valid either. The economy saw a decline in trade, but a surge of wealth. The amount of laborers was depleted after the Black Death, but the demand for labor had never been higher.
Chelsea P.
This was a good description of the plague's affect on society, however I believe the question asked about the ECONOMIC impacts of the black death on Europe. Many people died as you stated, however there was more to it than just the overcrowding of hospitals. Because the population was dying, there was a decrease in the number of workers. This caused a decline in productivity of crops.
The Black Death caused a decline in population. As a result there was a shortage of labor and fewer goods were produced. This caused an increase in per capita wealth and a rise in prices because goods were rare. In some places where there was overpopulation, the Black Death fixed that and set a balance between labor, land, and capital.
arianna said...
The Black Death caused a decline in population. As a result there was a shortage of labor and fewer goods were produced. This caused an increase in per capita wealth and a rise in prices because goods were rare. In some places where there was overpopulation, the Black Death fixed that and set a balance between labor, land, and capital.
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Arianna Marie Condon,
I liked the short summary regarding the timeline of Black Death. Good description and great analyzation of why there were rise in prices. Though, I suppose you could have elaborated a bit more on how the guilds were affected during those times, and also, maybe on how the Black Death spread to add more detail. Also, maybe you could have explained HOW and WHY the overpopulation set a balance between labor, land, and capital. Other than that, bravo, bravo, bravo.
arianna said...
The Black Death caused a decline in population. As a result there was a shortage of labor and fewer goods were produced. This caused an increase in per capita wealth and a rise in prices because goods were rare. In some places where there was overpopulation, the Black Death fixed that and set a balance between labor, land, and capital.
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Arianna Marie Condon,
I liked the short summary regarding the timeline of Black Death. Good description and great analyzation of why there were rise in prices. Though, I suppose you could have elaborated a bit more on how the guilds were affected during those times, and also, maybe on how the Black Death spread to add more detail. Also, maybe you could have explained HOW and WHY the overpopulation set a balance between labor, land, and capital. Other than that, bravo, bravo, bravo.
The Black Death severely impacted Europe’s late medieval economy. The Black Death caused the death of about one fourth of the population of late medieval Europe. This loss of population led to more wealth for the survivors of the plague. The smaller population also led to a dwindling manual work force which caused peasants to revolt for they could get the payment for their work that they wanted.
The Black Death increased the numbers of jobs in Europe because all the workers died from the plague. There also was an increase in per capita wealth and an increase in wages to desperately attract workers for businesses. However, there was a decrease in trade and lower quality items were produced due to the workers being sick.
I forgot to mention why there was an increase in per capita wealth. A more efficient "balance between labour, land, and capital"(Mckay) resulted from a sharp population decrease. This meant that workers that were previously unemployed got opportunities to work
To the ferrari hustla:
You make many valid points. saying how "Black Death took a great punch at the medieval economy of Europe" is an excellent way of describing its effect. Since people were dying, there were less workers and less trade. Workers could bargain with their bosses for higher wages even though the English Parliament created the Statute of Laborers(1351) to try to freeze wages of workers at pre-1347 levels.
ok so...
The black death's effect on the economy appeared mostly in populated areas where as the more rural areas weren't hit as hard. Releigion flared as Christians and Jews fought thinking it would help.
Everyone of course knows that the decrease in population was staggering (1/3) and may be very significant, and the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a plague. The decrease in population lead to lack of care for the land and higher pay because of the lack of people. That meant more more food and more land to snatch up from unfarmed areas. Also the workers were paid more but the products weren't as top notch as they were before the plague because everyone was sick.
Response to athenalivadas:
so i think you got the whole point across very well, and when you say that the plague helped with the huge population during the fourth century I think it would have been good to add another plus to the decrease in population because I know thre was more than one
=)
The Black Death, a fast spreading terribly efficient killer plague, affected more or less the whole of Europe and its economy. It is quite unclear, though, what the number of casualties was, this was due greatly to the lack of documentation and literacy at this time. It is believed that one third of Earths population at that time died from the Black Death. The economy of Europe was affected due to inflation of prices because of the shortage of workers, who were needed to keep food on the table. People with food could charge any amount of money they wanted, due to the high demand. During this time, the church had the most power and people were quick to confess their sins and paying to have them forgotten before dieing.
P.S. this is Matt Belling, per.5 AP euro
P.S.S. i dont have a dog
The Black Death was a terrible period of time for the people of Europe. The downfall of the economy was due the population decreasing by a third becuase of the bubonic plague. The bubonic plague was carried over on ships by rats and fleas. The decrease in population meant fewer workers, which meant less productivity, and a rise in prices. A low demand of workers resulted in higher wages, which meant that even during these tough times you became richer. Overall, the Black Death was a huge dilemma to Europe's economy.
response to austin quon:
I agree with everything that you said, especially that you didn't just say a third of the population was killed off but actually included the number. 1.4 million!!!! WOWZER!!! You had great facts that supported the topic.
Dillon, I thought you showed a very good understanding on the effects of the black death on economy as well as Europe. However, I thought you could have explained how one could be rich during this time more thuroughly.
=0)
Response to Dillon Campbell
Your comment was good, and i liked how you included HOW the plague was carried from place to place. Your cause-and-effect from shortage of workers to high demand of food also impressed me.
Response to Kontra,
I think you did very good job at explaining that the black death was devistating to the economy and the effects the plague had on the economy as well. However, the Black Death helped the economy. I think you should have explained more about how it helped increase per capital wealth, made it easier to find jobs, and many other things. But besides that GREAT JOB!!!!
Europe's economy was going through very difficult times during the black death regaurding trade. However, inside the European cities wealth was a lot easier to obtain than before. Because so many were either fleeing from European cities into the countryside or dying of the plague, there was a very high demand for labor. Despite the times of indescribably economic and social turmoil, the plague opened up job oppertunities for those willing to take the risk at higher wages. However, the trading buisness was reaching a drastic decline because that is basiclly how the plague was spread throughout Europe, on rats with tics that carried the disease.
Haha i love how everyones doing this like 5 minutes before its due!
The black death had a great impact on the economy. With 1.4 million people dead that lead to lees workers which would decrease the production of crops. This would cause for a higher price on goods and crops. It also made the prices for work go up too.
Response to Dillon Campbell
I thought your comment was very good how so said how the plague was spread and how it affected the jobs.
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