Grain was pirated and looted and later sold on the black market for speculation. War between England and Scotland exacerbated inflation and economic historians, such as Braudel, assume that the Black Death signaled the pitch of the recession that had been growing throughout the 14th and 15th centuries (Byrne, 86)
Anarchy was the rule of the day with peasant and poor plundering from wealthy, and laborers demanding exorbitant wages since demand for laborers was high. Various economic theorists posit the Black Death to be the start of capitalism (Perry 179)
Looting occurred on a frequent basis all of which resulted in a new middle class being formed called the "nouveaux riche." These took advantage of the Black Death and collapse of much of the upper class by building up their fortunes through pillaging and opportunism (Sherman 263)
The Black Death was actually the bubonic plague, a deadly disease that landed in Sicily in 1347 and spread out across Europe. It lasted nearly three years, and some estimates indicate it killed at least 35 million people (Backman 2003, 375)
The peasants were not as plentiful, so they could charge more wages, and the lord would or could not pay them, so feudalism started to dissolve. Another author notes, "Landowners could no longer force the landless to work for them for free under the bonds of feudalism -- the shortage of labor was such that the peasants could go elsewhere to get paid real wages" (Browne 2002)
Another historian notes, "So landlords in England began to convert land which was traditionally held by the peasants in common into enclosed property upon which sheep would be raised. And the raising of sheep, though lucrative, is not a labor-intensive proposition" (Kreis 2006)
In addition, land sales increased after the epidemic ended. Another author notes, "Subsequently, the rate and scale of sales in land increased, but it was not until the fifteenth century that a division between yeomen and agricultural labourers became apparent, culminating in the emergence of capitalist farming during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries" (Layton 1995)
The poll tax taxed everyone just because they existed, and it was the last straw for the peasants. Another historian notes, "While these conferences were going forward, there happened in England great commotions among the lower ranks of the people, by which England was near ruined without resource" (Muhlberger 2010)
Their petition also asked for the end of feudalism. An early historian writes, "And he demanded that there should be no more villeins in England, and no serfdom or villeinage, but that all men should be free and of one condition" (Oman 1906)
A historian notes, "As you move away from feudalism, the lord stops eating with everybody and goes to a private chamber and eats with his family, creating the beginnings of family life as opposed to courtly life. And houses change to reflect that the halls shrink and eventually disappear" (Sargent 2007, 114)
The peasants working for the lords in the country started to ask for lower rents from their masters, because there were so few of them left, they knew the lords would depend on them even more heavily to get agriculture going again. Another writer notes, " "They perhaps go as far back as the period following the Black Death which had significantly loosened the ties of feudalism and created a class of wandering agricultural labourers who were much in demand" (Walsh 2000, 231)
The claims of kin were considered sacrosanct even in the fluid conditions of the English countryside during the years after the Black Death" (1994, 206). Nevertheless, the Black Death did introduce some significant changes that would have a lasting impact on the social consciousness concerning the role and status of women that would culminate centuries later in the revolutions that rocked Europe and the burgeoning democracy in the United States in the 18th century (Gottlieb 1994)
More catastrophic tragedies have indeed occurred in the course of the world's long existence…. But nowhere else did a disaster of such magnitude engender such a recovery" (Levine 2001, 5)
In this regard, Naphy and Spicer (2000) note that the role of women was radically changed by the Black Death. As a direct consequence of the reduced numbers of clergy available during its peak, women were authorized by the Church to conduct sacraments and to deliver healthcare services (Naphy and Spicer 2000)
As a direct consequence of the reduced numbers of clergy available during its peak, women were authorized by the Church to conduct sacraments and to deliver healthcare services (Naphy and Spicer 2000). In addition, in sharp contrast to the roles prior to the plague, women in Europe during the 14th century were also allowed to perform jobs that paid higher wages, they assumed the responsibilities of operating family businesses, and many acquired land (Swenson 2007)
¶ … Black Death The plague, or the Black Death, was caused by fleas that were living on infected rats. (Chodorow 403) However, that is the simplified description of what caused the Black Death to spread across Europe
Physicians simply had no expertise in this area and did not have a way to control the disease that was spread simply though sneezing. For some time, it was unclear what was causing the disease and theories circulated were that it was "in the atmosphere" (Craig 430) or perhaps fumes released from earthquakes
Eventually, though, the fleas will go looking for another food source. In the case of black rat populatons, the fleas quite often jumped to humans (Benedictow 43)
As we shall see, it was the development of long-distance trade routes -- especially those that operated via ships -- that contributed to the rapid spread of the disease and its devastating effects in Europe. The Black Death was an epidemic of the bubonic plague that spread west from the steppes of Asia throughout Europe from roughly 1346/7 to 1351/3 (Duiker and Spielvogel 449; Benedictow 44)
Because the nature of disease and its spread was not well understood at the time, Europe had little recourse or response for curtailing the spread of the Black Death. Many believed that the disease was divine retribution, or the work of the Devil, and that strict adherence to Biblical teachings was the only sane response (Olea and Christakos 291)