The Black Death Essay - 2037 Words

In the middle of the fourteenth century, disaster struck Europe. A ravaging pestilence spread at an alarming rate through city and countryside alike. Beginning as a tiny spark in Genoa, the wildfire that was the Black Death enveloped nearly all of Europe, from Italy to Britain, in a span of about three years (C. Kohn, 25). Up to 38 million lives were claimed in less than a decade, distinguishing the Black Death one of the worst pandemics in human history (C. Kohn, 25). The disease behind this catastrophe has seldom been rivaled by another. But what was this disease? Many scientists and historical scholars believe this disaster to be the work of the bubonic plague, a deadly infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis or Y.†¦show more content†¦Records of the plague during this time period often recount tales of men falling ill and dying within a three or four day period (F. Cantor, 13). This short, rapid progression of the disease does not lend itself to the mul tiphasic course of the bubonic plague. Though these accounts are rivaled by tales describing a disease decently matching the bubonic plague, there are enough of these countering records to question the true identity of the Black Death. Symptoms were inconsistent from case to case. Some died of internal bleeding and without respiratory infection (Cross Giblin, 12), some without fever, and others without welts or buboes (F. Cantor, 14). Though some historians dismiss these statistics, blaming the inaccuracy and ineptitude of medieval doctors during this period, others are skeptical. Wild theories began to surface, some more credible than others. Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax, is featured in one of the more widely accepted theories. The likelihood of anthrax is bolstered by the circumstances of this time period. In the years preceding the plague, deforestation was peaking in Europe. Farmers cleared acres upon acres of land to expand their cattle ranches (F. Cantor, 14). Though this deforestation diminished the game bird population greatly, the Europeans’ passion for red meat did not dwindle. Sheep and cattle consumption was culminating at this point (F. Cantor, 14). Edward I. Thompson, a professor at the University of Toronto, found that meat fromShow MoreRelatedThe Black Of Black Death939 Words   |  4 Pageshistory few events seem as cataclysmic as the Black Death. The Black Death was actually one of the most deadly pandemics in human history. This awful pandemics most devastating time in Europe was between 1348 and 1350. According to some estimates it wiped out at least two-thirds of Europe’s population. 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