If you had a baby you knew was infected with a deadly disease, what would you do? You knew your baby was going to die because there was no cure. If you took care of your baby, you both would die. Would you take care of your baby or let her die? That was the choice parents had to make during the 14 Century. The Black Plague began by spreading disease, it affected the European people in both good and bad ways and it also affected their culture. First, the Black Plague began by spreading from Asia through Europe in the 14th Century. The disease probably began in Sicily. It affected Europe between 1346-1353. One-third of the people of Europe died in 3 years, over 20 million. The disease spread by insect …show more content…
Poor hygiene and unclean conditions attracted fleas and rats and spread the disease. People fell sick by the thousands and many died. Mass graves were created. Livestock also were infected. People, workplaces and farms were abandoned. On the other hand, survivors benefited from labor shortages, wages improved and they had a choice of who they worked for. The poor became rich while the rich became poor. Entire cities were depopulated, but new ones were built. There were too many goods and the prices were low. The black death slowed when hygiene and living conditions improved.
Third, the culture was affected by religious beliefs and art. People started to question their beliefs. They struggled with the failure of their religion. People lost trust in God and the church. People thought that God was punishing them for their sins. They began to whip and beat themselves to atone for their sins. Art shows pain, anger and sorrow. It shows us how afraid people were about life. Drawing became sad and full of death. To cope with the tragedy, writers told vulgar stories. The Black Plague affected the culture in ways that helped people deal with their pain and