The Black Death As A Turning Point Essay - 1924 Words

The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that spread throughout Medieval England during the years 1348-1350. The Black Death is believed to have killed between 30-45% of people in England alone. There were numerous ideas if what the cause of the disease was but in reality, was a bacteria-born disease from the bacteria Yersinia pestis, which was carried on the fleas off infected black rats and spread to Europe by Genoese trading ships from Asia. Some historians believed the Black Death marked the beginning of a deep recession within Britain as well as the beginning of the Renaissance, a period of striking artistic expression, whereas other historians seem to take the view point that the Black Death simply amplified an already declining†¦show more content†¦Regardless, the decline in population may have simply marked a continuation of what was already happening in Britain as according to Waley demographic growth had come to an end before the Black Death had arrived in Eu rope and that it merely accentuated an existing trend, due to the severe living conditions at the time as a result of poor sanitation and the Great Famine of 1315-17. Inflation and a shortage of labour supply immediately implemented farmers as would likely have not been able to afford to pay for their land due to a loss of rental income from tenants, causing them to lose their land. Many farmers, according to Rubin sought to move away from labour-intensive cultivation to more diverse activities such as mining, pasturing and fisheries, as required less care than crops, indicating a turning point in the ways that farmers sought to earn their money. This is supported by Dyer , who analysed the consumption of foodstuffs of harvest workers in Norfolk, to find an intensification in meat consumption to 15% in 1353 from 9% in 1341 and a decrease in bread consumption from 34% in 1341, to 31% in 1353. This indicates a clear shift, which may have resulted from the impacts of the Black Death, inferring that there may have been a turning point at the time as there was aShow MoreRelatedSizwe Bansi Demonstrates the Imperative for the Black Person in South Afric a to Be an â€Å"Actor† to Present an Enforcedly â€Å"Acceptable† Mask to His or Her White Masters (Crow). 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