What Are The Effects Of The Plague In The 19th Century
The plague from 1347 to 1350 in Europe was one of the miserable events in European history. Merchants brought the plague from Constantinople to Europe in 1347 and the plague began to spread quickly throughout Europe. During these 3 years were the peak of the plague in Europe and huge percentages of people died. Siena was also one of the central commercial city-states in Italy that suffered from the plague. When the plague arrived to Siena in 1348, fifty percentage or probably more of the population decreased by the plague. A consequence of high mortality rates with only few years led to social disorder. Siena had been more devastated than other cities due to the high plague mortality. Even after the plague ended, Siena had never recovered as
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a previous central commercial city-state completely after experiencing the miserable devastation. In this paper, I will analyze an historian's interpretations of impacts of the plague among the Council of Nine. The plague might have direct impacts to the Council of Nine to their downfall in 1355. Even if the plague didn't have direct impacts, Siena had long term process to reestablish the new social order and repopulate the urban population.
Before the outbreaks of the plague in Europe, Siena was one of the city-states in central Italy that was prosperous thanks to an economic and population growth. The Council of Nine ruled in Siena, which was a strong and wealthy government among Tuscan states in the 13th century. Siena was an important commercial and banking state that competing with Florence. On the other hand, Siena lost their power gradually since the early 14th century due to economic decline and suffered from the great famine of 1315. Siena was stuck in finance before the outbreaks of the plague. The plague indirectly overthrew
the Council of Nine.
The plague had indirect impacts to the government in financial and economical aspects because the government couldn't govern Siena and decline taxations and labor. The Council of Nine became not wealthy after they suffered from the plague due to financial and economic disorder. It took so much time to renew the government for making a decision what they would do or reduce one-third size of the government because four committees died by the plague. Despite renewing the government, they couldn't cover their revenues completely from the great losses of the urban population.1 Siena needed more revenues from various sources than before to reestablish a state, govern contado and compete with other states such as Florence. However, Siena's city growth became more limited after the outbreaks of the plague due to the slow recovery and political instability. According to Caffero, percentages of income represented the Biccherna income as less than the total income.2 Siena's Biccherna spent money the outbreaks of the plague little bit less than before. Siena recovered their finances quickly, but they had to increase taxations from various sources such as voluntary loans from wealth inhabitants. Other states such as Florence and Milan recovered from the plague earlier than Siena. Florence surpassed Siena with political and economical situations. The Council of Nine needed to respond to the new world order and public support, but they couldn't manage it. Their …show more content…
position dominance also had been threatened. The Council of Nine lost their political power
gradually after the outbreaks of plague. Siena was defeated by Florence in the battle of Marciano in 1354. Siena lost their strength to maintain independence and stability. The final damage was the arrival of the Emperor Charles ⅠV in 1355. Population increased and citizens revolted when the Emperor Charles arrived in Siena.
The plague negatively affected a social structure to cause a disorder and internal conflicts. Horrox borrowed Cardinal Gasquet's perception about consequences of the plague among social classes.3 The social structure shifted from privileges to lower middle classes. The high plague mortality effected individuals both peasants and the upper working classes. The lack of labor caused rapid increasing wages for both upper working classes and peasants. The upper working classes and peasants' different amounts of taxation because Siena was different from Florence, in that they didn't extract taxations from the countryside.4 As I mentioned above, the government's finance was quickly restored because the government increased indirect taxations and other stuffs doubled to maintain incomes and gain more revenue. Caferro found from Bowsky's criteria that contado gabella was a much less percentage oo the Biccherna income.5 The council moderated peasant's taxations because the plague killed many peasants, but they gave high impositions to peasants. Privilege classes such as patricians and bankers
tried to maintain their status, but the emergence of gente nuova brought the fall of the privilege status. Gente nuova were city dwellers that had already existed before the outbreaks of the plague. The number of Gente nuova increased after the plague and they gained enough strength to threat the Sienese privilege classes. The sumptuary law revealed the privilege classes' high sense of crisis. The law allowed Knights, judges, and physicians and their family members' luxury consumptions because people "pretended to higher station".6 Sienese privilege classes had been attacked because of unequal status. Citizens also dissatisfied with the sumptuary law because the law allowed only privileges to wear luxury dresses. The attacking still continued in the early 1350s until the Emperor of Charles IV arrived in Siena in 1355. The Sienese society got involved in internal conflicts among working classes after the outbreaks of the plague.
Each people had a different responses to the plague. One of famous quotes was from Agnolo Di Tura. Agnolo Di Tura was a Sienese chronicler who wrote about his personal experience of the plague in Siena. He called the plague as "the fat".7 According to Agnolo, people died immediately after they were infected with the plague and spread from person to person quickly.8 Agnolo's experience revealed the high plague mortality and people's responses of the plague in Siena. People awaited the death based
on their religious belief and flagellant procession because they thought the plague was a punishment from a god.
It wasn't only Agnolo who buried his children into his own lands. People's behavior adjusted the plague such as children's abandonment by parents. High plague mortality of urban population in Siena was disastrous. Many sources didn't have the exact estimated Sienese population before the outbreaks of the plague because including contado was complicated. Historians still have been debating the estimated plague mortality, but they estimated Sienese population dropped around one half or more. Siena took a long process that they couldn't recover population until the 19th century. One question came up with the Sienese population that why did Siena was really stuck in the high plague mortality. One of answers might be Sienese population couldn't keep up with the plague catastrophe in the short term. Many historians agreed with the statement that Siena was populated before the outbreaks of the plague. According to Bowsky, the first estimated Sienese population during the Council of Nine related to the year of 1300.9 "The Sienese walls then enclosed a surface area about one-half that within the Florentine walls."10 Sienese population would have been about half size of Florence that the latest research represented Florence held about 95,000 people.11 Siena might have as many as 47,500 in the city alone.12 Sienese population rapidly increased in the early 14th century that
Agnolo di Tura reported Siena was necessary to build new walls and gates in the district of
Valdimontone to accommodate the additional city dwellers.13 According to Cohn, Siena was the second largest populous city in major European cities.14 Many urban workers including four committees of the Council of Nine, city aristocracies, migrants and peasants died in Siena. The high plague mortality directly impacted on the Sienese society that it was uneasy to repopulate in short-term.
During the 14th century was a period of radical changes in Europe. The plague was one of the historical events in which Europe suffered a great population loss. Many city-states in Italy were also damaged by the plague. Siena was one of the commercial states which was a rival of Florence in the Tuscan region before the outbreaks of the plague. The outbreaks of plague was a disaster for the Sienese society. Siena lost more than half of their population by the plague. This huge population loss led to be chaos in Sienese society. The plague didn't have direct impacts to cause a devastation to the Sienese society. However, Siena had long-term struggles to repopulate the society and they couldn't recover it completely as a previous commercial state. Each areas had different adaptations of the plague. It was depend on how European countries responded the plague, but different adaptations made a base of the modern European society.
a previous central commercial city-state completely after experiencing the miserable devastation. In this paper, I will analyze an historian's interpretations of impacts of the plague among the Council of Nine. The plague might have direct impacts to the Council of Nine to their downfall in 1355. Even if the plague didn't have direct impacts, Siena had long term process to reestablish the new social order and repopulate the urban population.
Before the outbreaks of the plague in Europe, Siena was one of the city-states in central Italy that was prosperous thanks to an economic and population growth. The Council of Nine ruled in Siena, which was a strong and wealthy government among Tuscan states in the 13th century. Siena was an important commercial and banking state that competing with Florence. On the other hand, Siena lost their power gradually since the early 14th century due to economic decline and suffered from the great famine of 1315. Siena was stuck in finance before the outbreaks of the plague. The plague indirectly overthrew
the Council of Nine.
The plague had indirect impacts to the government in financial and economical aspects because the government couldn't govern Siena and decline taxations and labor. The Council of Nine became not wealthy after they suffered from the plague due to financial and economic disorder. It took so much time to renew the government for making a decision what they would do or reduce one-third size of the government because four committees died by the plague. Despite renewing the government, they couldn't cover their revenues completely from the great losses of the urban population.1 Siena needed more revenues from various sources than before to reestablish a state, govern contado and compete with other states such as Florence. However, Siena's city growth became more limited after the outbreaks of the plague due to the slow recovery and political instability. According to Caffero, percentages of income represented the Biccherna income as less than the total income.2 Siena's Biccherna spent money the outbreaks of the plague little bit less than before. Siena recovered their finances quickly, but they had to increase taxations from various sources such as voluntary loans from wealth inhabitants. Other states such as Florence and Milan recovered from the plague earlier than Siena. Florence surpassed Siena with political and economical situations. The Council of Nine needed to respond to the new world order and public support, but they couldn't manage it. Their …show more content…
position dominance also had been threatened. The Council of Nine lost their political power
gradually after the outbreaks of plague. Siena was defeated by Florence in the battle of Marciano in 1354. Siena lost their strength to maintain independence and stability. The final damage was the arrival of the Emperor Charles ⅠV in 1355. Population increased and citizens revolted when the Emperor Charles arrived in Siena.
The plague negatively affected a social structure to cause a disorder and internal conflicts. Horrox borrowed Cardinal Gasquet's perception about consequences of the plague among social classes.3 The social structure shifted from privileges to lower middle classes. The high plague mortality effected individuals both peasants and the upper working classes. The lack of labor caused rapid increasing wages for both upper working classes and peasants. The upper working classes and peasants' different amounts of taxation because Siena was different from Florence, in that they didn't extract taxations from the countryside.4 As I mentioned above, the government's finance was quickly restored because the government increased indirect taxations and other stuffs doubled to maintain incomes and gain more revenue. Caferro found from Bowsky's criteria that contado gabella was a much less percentage oo the Biccherna income.5 The council moderated peasant's taxations because the plague killed many peasants, but they gave high impositions to peasants. Privilege classes such as patricians and bankers
tried to maintain their status, but the emergence of gente nuova brought the fall of the privilege status. Gente nuova were city dwellers that had already existed before the outbreaks of the plague. The number of Gente nuova increased after the plague and they gained enough strength to threat the Sienese privilege classes. The sumptuary law revealed the privilege classes' high sense of crisis. The law allowed Knights, judges, and physicians and their family members' luxury consumptions because people "pretended to higher station".6 Sienese privilege classes had been attacked because of unequal status. Citizens also dissatisfied with the sumptuary law because the law allowed only privileges to wear luxury dresses. The attacking still continued in the early 1350s until the Emperor of Charles IV arrived in Siena in 1355. The Sienese society got involved in internal conflicts among working classes after the outbreaks of the plague.
Each people had a different responses to the plague. One of famous quotes was from Agnolo Di Tura. Agnolo Di Tura was a Sienese chronicler who wrote about his personal experience of the plague in Siena. He called the plague as "the fat".7 According to Agnolo, people died immediately after they were infected with the plague and spread from person to person quickly.8 Agnolo's experience revealed the high plague mortality and people's responses of the plague in Siena. People awaited the death based
on their religious belief and flagellant procession because they thought the plague was a punishment from a god.
It wasn't only Agnolo who buried his children into his own lands. People's behavior adjusted the plague such as children's abandonment by parents. High plague mortality of urban population in Siena was disastrous. Many sources didn't have the exact estimated Sienese population before the outbreaks of the plague because including contado was complicated. Historians still have been debating the estimated plague mortality, but they estimated Sienese population dropped around one half or more. Siena took a long process that they couldn't recover population until the 19th century. One question came up with the Sienese population that why did Siena was really stuck in the high plague mortality. One of answers might be Sienese population couldn't keep up with the plague catastrophe in the short term. Many historians agreed with the statement that Siena was populated before the outbreaks of the plague. According to Bowsky, the first estimated Sienese population during the Council of Nine related to the year of 1300.9 "The Sienese walls then enclosed a surface area about one-half that within the Florentine walls."10 Sienese population would have been about half size of Florence that the latest research represented Florence held about 95,000 people.11 Siena might have as many as 47,500 in the city alone.12 Sienese population rapidly increased in the early 14th century that
Agnolo di Tura reported Siena was necessary to build new walls and gates in the district of
Valdimontone to accommodate the additional city dwellers.13 According to Cohn, Siena was the second largest populous city in major European cities.14 Many urban workers including four committees of the Council of Nine, city aristocracies, migrants and peasants died in Siena. The high plague mortality directly impacted on the Sienese society that it was uneasy to repopulate in short-term.
During the 14th century was a period of radical changes in Europe. The plague was one of the historical events in which Europe suffered a great population loss. Many city-states in Italy were also damaged by the plague. Siena was one of the commercial states which was a rival of Florence in the Tuscan region before the outbreaks of the plague. The outbreaks of plague was a disaster for the Sienese society. Siena lost more than half of their population by the plague. This huge population loss led to be chaos in Sienese society. The plague didn't have direct impacts to cause a devastation to the Sienese society. However, Siena had long-term struggles to repopulate the society and they couldn't recover it completely as a previous commercial state. Each areas had different adaptations of the plague. It was depend on how European countries responded the plague, but different adaptations made a base of the modern European society.