The Black Death Changing History

The Black Death Changing History

Throughout the course of history, historians have separated the years from around 800-1500, and tagged those seven centuries as The Medieval Era. During this time period, a plethora of events occurred with a fair share of highs and lows. One of the famous events of the Medieval Era was the Black Death which killed many of Europe’s civilization. However, shortly following this era, with the passing of the Black Death, was a time of change and reconstruction, known as The Age Reformation which ultimately changed ‘modern’ western civilization.

The Medieval Ages began with an era of crusades in which western Latin Christians attempted to retake Jerusalem from the infidels. During the crusades, a period of economic growth and advancement in technology spurred. Planned cities were constructed on waters for optimal crusade launching points, magnificent cathedrals were built and stained glass was created, all of which signified the overflowing wealth present in Europe during this time. However, after this booming time span came an overwhelming economic crisis due to a drastic change in the climate. As the summers became cooler and wetter, there came an economic shortage which ultimately led to less harvest time, and therefore less food. To deepen this issue, The Hundred Years War, which lasted from 1340-1440, was fought. To make matters worse, after the end of The Hundred Years War, in China and Mongolia during 1347 a horrifying plague swept through the flea, rat, and mosquito population. This plague, which came to be known as the Black Death, spread throughout Europe by the trading routes. Over time, it has become evident that the ultimate factor that ended this The Medieval Era and began modern western history was the Black Death.

The Black Death was an extreme epidemic of a bubonic plague that killed a great portion of Europe’s population during the mid-fourteenth century. The plague originated within the flea,...