HST 111 LECTURE 2 8 29 12 READING NOTES Textbook Knighton CLASS NOTES Baltic Sea froze in early 1300s then it rain extensively flooding fields and ruining crops Things continued to get worse By the 1340s nearly all of Europe west of Poland was suffering through disease and famine Then came the Black Death which wiped out at least a third of the population of Europe After the 1340s Europe s ability to sustain its population evaporated The agricultural revolution led to new farming techniques and more food but clearing certain areas of land led to erosion and the floods of the 1310s The Little Ice Age also contributed by making there less land for cultivation and a shorter growing season Then the Black Death arrived in the spring of 1348 and was lethal About 20 million people died of the Black Death in Europe The Black Death continued to appear roughly every 20 years until 1721 but eastern Europe due to its sparse population was largely spared The Black Death Plague in mid 14th century Europe Within a 4 year period Europe lost 34 1 3 of its population due to the Black Death When the Plague struck people did not look for causes they had no way to stop it Plagues were mentioned by the Bible so the question asked was Why did God do this to Europe Battle of two armies the dead vs the living 12th and 13th centuries were very prosperous 14th century was a time of pain death and disaster Mini ice age took place at the beginning of the 14th century and famine struck economies collapsed peasant rebellions were common 100 Years War put France and England in constant conflict 14th century was a time of crisis for Europe Before the Plague arrived in the spring of 1348 10 of the population of Europe had already been lost due to famine In the past Europe s population grew unchecked more population required more food but no more land was cleared for farming by the 14th century to cope with the growing population a food crisis ensued throughout the 14th century The black rat on ships brought the plague from India China to Europe Heavily populated urban areas were the hardest hit as well as warm areas Paris lost about half of its population Florence lost 4 5 of its population Why did so many people die Overcrowding 16 million people lived in 1 square mile of London many people could share the same bedroom or bed so it was not physically possible to isolate the sick from the healthy Sanitation or lack of Plague found it easier to work in unclean bodies rats liked warmth and dirt cities were inherently unsanitary Eventually the black rat came into contact with the native brown rat the brown rat was not a plague carrier and it was also bigger and stronger so the brown rat defeated the black rat After the Plague survivors found it easier to find work and got higher pay After the Plague criminals flocked to major cities and a major increase in crime took place especially crimes against the church The fact that many people in the clergy showed the church failed in its task Cities began to be viewed as places of great wealth but also as places of wickedness Two extreme religious movements began to combat the world ending Back to Adam and Eve free love ect Flagellants dressed themselves in white symbolizing purity whipped themselves to do penance to God This was also a time to blame the Jews Jews were accused of poisoning the wells and causing the plague No region can sustain this type of population loss without some change of how society was ordered There were not enough peasants to work the land If you could survive economic possibility grew KEY POINTS Plague arrived from China via Mongol hordes to the Black Sea and then into Italy Spreads rapidly throughout Europe Carried by the black rat and fleas Effect is greater because of a population already weakened by famine Causes cessation in 100 Years War Leads to a general feeling of mortality and punishment for sins Results in prosecution of Jews Creation of extreme religious movements