The Black Death that tore through Europe was indiscriminate; it took men, women, children, rich poor, anyone that crossed paths with the inflicted would soon fall to the disease as well. The origin and subsequent spread of the disease was attributed to fleas, rats, and the increase human contact that came from Mongols, merchants, and soldiers in conquest. With the increased travel, these groups carried the disease overseas and across land to quickly infect new portions of the population previously isolated. The poor living conditions, sanitation, and constant caring for the sick also enhanced the virulence of the disease.
Killing around 600 people a day, the population not only did not know how to cure the disease, but they were unable to prevent its spread, not knowing where it came from. With the unidentified carriers, society thought that perhaps God had sent the disease or that it came from a mysterious vapor. Eventually, they adopted practices of quarantining the sick and burying the dead as a means to try to control the disease but little impact was made. The death toll remained high and had great implications on what was the current state and progress of society.
Society was strained and divided under the pressure of the disease. Social groups were stigmatized as being primary carriers of the disease, some retaliated with violence and crime. Religious groups even submitted to cult like behavior as a means to protect themselves from infliction. There was mass hysteria in most cities. Despite the hysteria, there were still citizens working endlessly to make positive and longstanding contributions to society through the practice of medicine. Countless attempts were made and with tedious documentation, improvements were made that helped develop the modern practice of medicine. This makes one consider how many talents we lost access to as a society with the passing of such a large portion of the population. With so many deaths occurring, historians consider how many could-be renowned artists, architects, and philosophers perished. What contributions of theirs did society miss out on as a result of their death that came from the uncontrolled spread of the plague?
As the spread of the plague slowed down, however, society began to reform and did reach a point of growth and improvement. With less workers, wages increased, and the poor improved their economic standing. Benefitting the poor and often to the disadvantage of the rich, there was a reordering of social hierarchy after the passing of the plague. The standard of living rose and there was a slow but still increase in population. The Black Death remained active but did not spread through the world as it had with this first passing. It has reemerged in Madagascar and the United States, but not in the same capacity. The US had its first major outbreak in the early 1900s when an Asian chip carried infected rats and fleas. The primary regions of outbreak in the US are around the four corner region or California and Oregon. Globally, there have also been several cases in Madagascar as the disease reemerged there. At this point, we understand that the disease spreads through person to person contact of coughing, contaminated fluids or droplets, so practices of isolation aid in preventing the spread of the disease, in addition to the practices of rat, flea, and even cat control.
Sources: Class notes, movie notes, powerpoint, provided article