RAC: Lesson - The Black Death

An illustration from the era of the Black Death called Dance of Death. Skeletons danceThe Black Death

The "Black Death" was actually 2 strands of one disease: the Pneumonic Plague that spread through air droplets (like coughs, sneezes, and even conversations) and the Bubonic Plague that spread through flea bites. The Pneumonic plague affected the lungs and caused shortness of breath, coughing blood, and death. The Bubonic plague led to swollen glands, fever, blackened extremities, and death. The Black Death, caused by exposure to the bacteria, started killing people in China in the 1330s and then spread west along the trade and communication routes. Unfortunately, fleas, flea-bitten rats, and people all traveled the Silk Road during the Pax Mongolica. At that point, land routes shut down to contain the epidemic. But this was a persistent strain of bacteria that would not be thwarted by a "closed" sign.

"The Black Death" was the most historic development of the 14th Century CE throughout all of Afro-Eurasia. Outbreaks reduced the population by 25% to 65%. The cities were hit the worst. Since cities were often the home of governments, economies, and religions, the Plague devastated the very institutions that created society. It would take over two hundred years to return to pre-Plague population levels. Let's look at how the different regions were rebuilt.

China

A picture of the Palace at the Forbidden City.

While the Bubonic Plague probably originated in Central Asia in the steppe homelands of the Mongols, it was in China that the first outbreaks with significant societal impacts occurred. By 1300 CE, China's resources were stretched a bit thin and it struggled to feed a population that exploded during the previous century. Starting in the 1330s, the Plague wreaked havoc there over the next seven decades. By the mid-1300s CE, almost all of China's large cities had experienced major outbreaks.

The massive amount of death (one city's population experienced an almost 90% death toll) cost the Mongol Yuan Dynasty their Mandate of Heaven (remember that from previous Modules!?). In 1368 CE, Emperor Hongwu claimed the Mandate of Heaven and began the Ming Dynasty. Over the course of three decades, Emperor Hongwu reunified China, reestablished the famous bureaucratic system with local leaders, and executed 100,000s of "enemies". Later, Emperor Yongle constructed a new palace in Beijing to visually prove that the Ming Dynasty had the Mandate of Heaven and restored native-led China. The Ming emperors of China viewed the outside world with some skepticism (…and, really, who can blame them? The Mongols came from the outside and introduced death and destruction through warfare and germs!) Eventually, China stopped expanding or exploring. This will be an important choice made by the Chinese in comparison to the choices of the Europeans as they rebuilt following their own experience with the Plague.

An animated gif showing the spread of plague in Europe in the 14th c CE.Europe

Approximately 50-80 million Western Europeans died within the first five years of the arrival of the Bubonic Plague in Europe. Feudalism also declined, along with the power of noblemen and the Catholic Church. The Church responded in two ways: first, help those in need, and second, weed out heretics. Church leaders aligned with secular leaders to distribute charity or assistance for those still suffering or in need (and there were many.) The Inquisition of Spain and Italy not only attacked Heretics (non-Catholic Christians) but also Jews and Muslims. This led to either forced conversions or death.

As the Church moved to repair the damage done to its authority and reputation, another movement outside of the Church began. Italian scholars and artists, backed by bankers, nobles, and, in some cases, the Church, started a movement to bring new exposure to old ways of thinking due to trade with Muslims during the Crusades. This revival of previous cultural achievements came to be known as the Renaissance and describes the rebirth of old ways that occurred between 1430 and 1550 CE. Starting among Italian city-states (especially Florence,) it then spread to France, the Netherlands, England, and the Holy Roman Empire.

A painting of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire

Middle East and North Africa

Before the Mongols and Plague pillaged Afro-Eurasia, the Dar al-Islam was already fractured into three distinct regions. But, from the ashes of the Crusades, the Mongols, and the Plague, this region developed an empire that would soon make Europe very nervous. The Ottoman Turks started their history as nomadic warriors caught between the worlds of Islam and Christianity on the Anatolian Peninsula. They sided with Islam. They eventually took over a small area of that peninsula under their leader, Osman I, in 1299 CE. The empire that Osman established, the Ottoman Empire, quickly rose as an imperial force. Within a century, the Ottoman Empire controlled the Anatolian Peninsula, poised to take more. In 1453 CE, the Ottoman Empire defeated the remnants of the Byzantine Empire by conquering Constantinople and renaming it Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire lasted for more than six centuries and served as the world's mightiest empire for a good portion of that time.

Different Rates of Spread

Below is a map showing the different rates of spread of the Black Death in Europe in the 14th c CE. Why did some areas of Europe experience only a minor outbreak? Select the region below the map for more information.

Spread of the Bubonic Plague in Europe (1347-1351)
Map Map Key
A map showing the spread of plague in Europe. The areas shaded green had small outbreaks only.

Brown: 1347

Dark Orange: mid-1348

Light Orange: early 1349

Dark Yellow: late 1349

Light Yellow: 1350

Dark Cream: 1351

Light Cream: after 1351

Green: minor outbreak

Purple dot: center of uprisings

Black dot: city for orientation

 

Milan, Italy

The ruler immediately stopped all trade and travel. Families who got the plague were walled up in their homes.

Pyrenees Mountains (between France and Spain)

Trade routes went around this mountainous area, so this area remained isolated from the plague.

Warsaw, Poland

People could afford a healthier diet, villages were spread far apart, there were fewer rats, and the large Jewish population washed more.

Practice Activity

The Black Death hit Europe initially, and hardest, in the 1350s. However, the plague returned many times over the next 200 years. Art reflected this new reality. Interact with each card, turning it over for more information about the image.

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