Analysis Of Giavonni Baccaccio's Black Death

Giavonni Baccaccio Describes Black Death
Around the 12 ro 1300s, Europe and Chinas population took a major hit in decreation following what is now called Black Death. Black Death killed millions when it hit Countries and was one of the most devasating plagues of time, dropping Chinas population from 123 million to 65 million and Europes from 70 million to 45 million. In 1348 Giovanni Boccaccio decsribes what Black Death did to the lives of those who were infected in Flourence. Black Death; started with boils that developed on your groin or under your arm then serval more spread over the body, the boils surpressed and left black spots over the persons body, people died with in three days of contraction. No medicine could cure it, Giovanni describes
the scene as horrific “The calamity had installed such horror into the hearts of men and women that brother abandoned brother, uncles, sisters,and wives left their dear ones to perish and…. Parents avoided visiting or nursing their very children” (spodek pg. 423). Black Death was an awful experience it made some people give up on hope, faith and religon. Mongols brought this disease from Asia to China and with with ships sailing from China to Europe infested rats brought the disease to China. If Black death decreased these populations so serverly how were the mongols protected? Did they die as quickly as the Chinese and Europeans, was this the extinction of the mongols? Was a cure ever found for Black Death, assuming there wasnt and people of Europe and China just let the last person die with the disease but if so how did the mongols survive? Maybe since the mongols knew where the caught the disease they went back and found a cure and just didnt bring it to China with him.

For columbus’s first voyage the journal he usually kept had been lost but preist Bartolome de las casa wrote a synopsis, Historia de las indies.
He embarks on this voyage with the desire to keep his promises to the King and Queen Ferdinand and Isabella. Columbus promises the King and Queen “cotton, spices and aromatics, timber and slaves” if they sponsor his travels. In these journal entries columbus’s writes to the King and Queen every detail about the voyage. He begins in October when he he arrives and meets as what he descirbes are the indians as naked and painted. In November he begins capturing the indians and their possessions. By December columbus had what he orignially promised to the King and Queen of Spain. But is it really a capture if the Indians are willing? In the absract made by tghe priest of Bartolome de las casa at the end of December Indians seemed like they praised columbus he says “more than 1000 pewrsons came to the ship, and that all brought something that they owned, and before they come within a half a crossbow shot of the ship, they stand up in their canoes with what they brought in their hands, saying “Take! Take!”” We said colombus just came and took the Indians what I think he did was took advantage of the indians and their ignorance, Columbus knew the indians thoughy he and his men were some type of gods who fell from the sky, so they were
gulable.

Ibn Khaldun on Urban Life in the Fourthteenth Century

The process of urbanization takes place after Arabs rule in Constantinople.
A philospher named Ibn Khaldun of Tunis illistrates the process of urbanization and how the rough and savergery of the Arabs fade away after generations and become soft. Ibn starts with how urban life begins. He says the age of the state rarely exceeds three generations,...that is forty years or the time of full growth and development. I dont think that true depending on who you are, what challenges you’ve had to overcome and who you were raised by you cant put an exact number on when a person reaches full maturity. He summarizes the process “The first generation is still nomadic and contain the roughness and savergy…. They are still fresh off of power, the second generation have adapted from the nomadic stage and is trying to seperate itself to live a luxury lifestyle. The third generation has no idea of the nomadic life that has happen two generations ago and lives a luxious life and by being ignorant to the past they become liabilities. (Ibn Khaldun pg 506). This analysis seems accurate as I compare it to now. You have seniors who are really strict and set in their ways meaning they are stuck in past and you move on to the next generation, their kids who are a little strict but learning to let go of those was because they see the change happening. Next you have their children who are just carefree and easy going. I understand the process of urbanization from the example of the Arabs giving by Ibn
Khaldun. I do wonder why how urbanization was able to progress through only three generations. Around this time It seemed as though traditions would have been passed down like royalty, and the savergry of the Arabs wouldve never faded.