Essay On Bubonic Plague

The Bubonic Plague
The Bubonic Plague occurred in the fourteenth century and caused an enormous death rate across Europe, Africa and China. The Bubonic Plague is a pandemic that that took more lives than any other known disease (“Black Death”). People during the fourteenth century had never experienced a disease that was as serious as the Bubonic Plague and were unable to comprehend the cause of this disease or how to treat it. The plague began killing at an incredible speed that wiped out many countries. Even after the huge outbreaks were over, smaller ones continued for centuries (“The Black Death: Bubonic Plague”). The plague created chaos through many continents and seemed unstoppable.
The Bubonic Plague commenced in China in 1334 and advanced along trade routes to other countries (“Plague”). After the plague began in
China, it quickly spread to other countries and began to be a threat everywhere. The Bubonic Plague arrived in Europe in 1348 where it would claim a quarter to half of the European population (“Black Death”). The Bubonic Plague was nicknamed the Black Death due to some of the symptoms of the Bubonic Plague. The Black Death receives its name from the black welts and swellings that seep blood and puss (“The Black Death”).
The cause of the Black Death was unidentified for many years, which lead to such devastation.
When physicians began making advancements in the cause of the Black Death, the outbreaks began to dwindle. The Black Death is caused by the bacteria called Yersinia Pestis (“The Black Death”). When an infected flea bites a human or animal the disease then transferred to the human, after this, the disease transfers from person to person (“Plague”). During the medieval period, people and houses were not clean, which caused the outbreak to thrive even more (“Black Death”). These factors contributed to the great devastation caused by the Black Death.
The Black Death spread very rapidly throughout the world. China was the first to be infected and was one of the major trade nations at the time, so the plague spread very quickly (“The Black Death: Bubonic Plague”). The Black Death transmits through air, an infected flea or animal bite or from contact with an infected person (“The Black Death”). The bacteria Yersinia Pestis is very dangerous because it appears in many different varieties of animals and is transferred rapidly (“Plague,” National
Geographic).
The Bubonic Plague had many different effects on the body that caused it to be so fatal. The symptoms of the Black Death included headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, and sudden fever and chills (“Plague,” Mayo Clinic). The most common symptom of the Bubonic Plague is the swollen, painful, lymph glands called bubo’s (“Plague”). The plague is so fatal because it disables the human immune system and causes the body to be unable to fight the disease (“Plague,” National Geographic).
The Bubonic Plague also had a huge impact on society. Many people began to flee the infected areas, stopped attending church, and the trade routes shut down, so no supplies were imported or exported (Hecker and Babington 34). Many of the families who tried to escape were unsuccessful because of the variety of infected areas (Hecker and Babington 52). Many laborers died creating an extreme shortage of workers to tend to the farmland (“Black Death”). “Some contemporary historians report that on occasion, there were not enough survivors remaining to bury the dead” (“Plague”). Many people were shocked that one disease could cause so much death and devastation.
The Bubonic Plague not only effected society, but affected the economy as well. The death rate was so high that the living workers’ wages escalated greatly (“The Black Death,” Khan Academy”). A famine occurred because there were not enough farmers left to work the farms (“The Black Death,” Khan Academy). As supplies and customers dwindled, the economy changed drastically (“The Black Death,” Khan Academy). To minimize the transmission of the plague, trading ended and caused the economy to fall in many areas (“The Black Death,” Khan Academy). Countries erupted into chaos as economies and societies began to fall.
During the huge fourteenth century outbreak, doctors did what they could but did not have enough technology to cure the disease (Hecker and Babington 72). The most decorated physicians at this time were the medical staffs of Paris, who were required to provide possible causes for the Black Death (Hecker and Babington 73). The medicine they used to try to help the disease did not stop it, however, physicians could not find other cures (“The Black Death: Bubonic Plague”). Today, we use common antibiotics for treatment, but in the fourteenth century, they did not understand the disease and did not have the technology to cure the disease (“Plague”).
The Bubonic Plague has the highest death rate of any other known disease in the world. The plague wreaked havoc on many countries and continents all over the world. While some countries like Milan and Flanders received slight damage, the Black Death wiped out Tuscany and Aragon (“Black Death”). Many countries spent years to decades trying to rebuild their economy, society, and stability. Countries strongly affected by the Bubonic Plague were not able to rebuild and recover from such a great loss. In some cases decades passed before progress began. The technological advancements made after the plague outbreak allowed physicians to create a cure that would stop the disease. With continued improvements in medical treatments, the Black Death plague has had no major outbreaks since the original pandemic.