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The Effects of The Black Death on the
Economic and Social Life of Europe
Written by:
dropthechalupa01
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/1682.php
The Black Death is the name later given
to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The
disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of
labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the
substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social
stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the
arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy
gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
"In less than four years the disease
carved a path of death through Asia, Italy, France, North Africa, Spain
and Normandy, made its way over the Alps into Switzerland, and continued
eastward into Hungary" (Microsoft Bookshelf, page 1). After a brief
respite, the plague resumed, crossing the channel into England,
Scotland, and Ireland, and eventually made its way into the northern
countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and even as far north as
Greenland. In other words, the plague touched almost the entire known
world.
So much death could not help but tear
economic and social structures apart. Lack of peasants and laborers sent
wages soaring, and the value of land plummeted. For the first time in
history the scales tipped against wealthy landlords as peasants and
serfs gained more bargaining power. Without architects, masons and
artisans, great cathedrals and castles remained unfinished for hundreds
of years. Governments, lacking officials, floundered in their attempts
to create order out of chaos.
The living lost all sense of morality
and justice, and a new attitude toward the church emerged. Medieval
people could find no Divine reason for the four-year nightmare, and
dissatisfaction with the church gave impetus to reform movements that
eventually broke apart the unity of the Catholic Church.
The plague itself was disastrous
enough, especially in the appearance of more than one form during the
same epidemic. But coming when it did was as catastrophic as its form.
The middle 14th century was not a good time for Europe. The European
economy was already in difficulties. It was approaching the limits of
expansion, both on its frontiers and in reclaiming land from forest and
swamp. The arrival of the Mongols and the Ottomans had disrupted trade
routes, and certain areas of Europe were edging into depression.
"The Church was in poor shape as well.
The popes resided at Avignon, not at Rome, to the scandal of many.
Heresy could be found in England and Bohemia and southern France, and
the Church seemed unable to control it (Encyclopedia Britannica, p.58)."
The Holy Land had been lost in the
1290s and efforts to recover it had been dismal failures. The Black
Death exacerbated the difficulties created by war and a constricted
economy. There is a relationship here, of course. The effects of the
plague were made worse because of these other problems. And the problems
themselves were redoubled because of the plague.
Another major problem was the Jewish
population. In village after village, the common people laid the blame
of the plague at the feet of the Jews. Hundreds of Jews were accused of
poisoning wells and put to the question, medieval code for torture, and
burned. Despite this, the Jews were also provided- by Casimir the Great
of Poland- protection from pogroms and ritual murders at the hands of
the Christians. When the Black Death raged through the German lands
between 1348 and 1352, over 300 Jewish communities were either destroyed
or expelled from their homelands.
The Black Death changed the demography
of Europe substantially. Aside from the Plague deaths, there was also a
decline in the birth rate. The net result was that by 1400, Europe's
population was half what it had been in 1345. This is known with some
accuracy from the many Medieval church, census, and tax records that
have survived. Europe's population took about six generations to
recover.
Cities were hit hard by the plague.
Financial business was disrupted as debtors died and their creditors
found themselves without recourse. There was simply no one to collect
from. Construction projects stopped for a time or were abandoned
altogether. Guilds lost their craftsmen and could not replace them.
The labor shortage was very severe,
especially in the short term, and consequently, wages rose. Because of
the mortality, there was an oversupply of goods, and so prices dropped.
Between the two trends, the standard of living rose for those still
living.
The Black Death speeded up the changes
in medieval society that were already under way. The most immediate
effect of the Black Death was a shortage of labor. Much land could no
longer be cultivated. In response, the nobles refused to continue the
long common practice of gradually eliminating serfdom by allowing the
serfs to buy their freedom. Over the centuries it had been realized by
some that free tenants were more productive than serfs, and this had led
to a gradual breakdown in the use of serfs. With the post-Plague labor
shortage, many nobles tried to reverse the process in order to keep
their land under cultivation and their income up. Free tenants were
taking advantage of the labor shortage to demand better terms from their
landlords and that the nobles were reluctant to see their incomes
reduced. Governments tried to fix wages, but the labor shortage was
irresistible. If their feudal lords would not relent, serfs simply fled
to areas where wages were higher or land rental terms lower.
The shock of the Plague caused many
peasants to demand a restructuring of society, often with a religious
fervor. An approximation of democracy was demanded and with it a curbing
of aristocratic rights and privileges. When these hopes for a better
life were curtly dismissed, or savagely repressed by the nobility, many
commoners rose in rebellion. The French Jacquerie of 1358, the English
Peasant's Rebellion in 1381, the Catalonian Rebellion in 1395, and many
revolts in Germany, all serve to show how seriously the mortality had
disrupted economic and social relations. "Unrest was everywhere"
(Microsoft Bookshelf, page 1).
None of the rebellions were successful.
But in the end the disintegration of the manor system of managing
agriculture began. A land rent system, with the freedom of the peasants
recognized replaced it. "This system still exists in many parts of
Europe, although the desire of peasants to own their land eventually
led, centuries later, to migration to places like Russia, Australia,
Africa, and the Americas" (Encyclopedia Britannica, pp.58-59). There was
never enough land, and dividing it among the sons soon led to
economically untenable situations.
The higher wages and the small
manufacturing caused high inflation and commercial classes attempted to
maintain their position by getting laws passed regulating who could
enter their industries. This simply caused unrest in the cities, as
landless peasants rioted for the opportunities now denied them. Higher
wages meant that many people had more money to spend on themselves. New
industries arose to meet the demand.
Governments also had to adapt. Land was
abandoned, rents were not paid, and tax revenue declined. This had a
drastic effect on the war, as the wages of mercenary soldiers increased
while available tax revenue decreased by more than 50 percent. The
French also suffered from the collapse of the system of free military
service as a feudal obligation. There was fewer trained soldiers
available and those that were still around wanted a lot more money or
simply had better financial prospects doing something else.
As a result of the Plague, the French
went over to a system of paid, professional, army, something the English
had been doing for a long time. Coming at a time when taxes were lower
than previously, this led to smaller armies.
The post-Plague world was one of vastly
increased opportunity for inventive and capable individuals. While the
Black Death killed off medieval society, it gave birth to the beginnings
of our own industrialized consumer society.
Bibliography
·
Microsoft
Bookshelf for Windows 95. "The Black Death". 1992. Page 1.
·
Internet. Yahoo.
October 2, 1998. Address:
http://www.discovery.com.
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