Black Plague Mapping Activity

Mapping Activity Get into groups of 3-4 of your choosing. Begin working on “The Path of the Black Death in Europe”. Everyone must turn in a paper. You may need markers or colored pencils for this activity. The marker boxes are in the drawer in the back. You will have approximately 30 minutes to complete this activity.

Answer questions from “The onset of the Black Death…” How virulent was the plague? Did most people who got the plague survive or succumb? Was recovery from the plague even possible? Which particular groups (priests, doctors, merchants, urban versus rural population, for example) or classes of people (working class, craftsmen, ruling class, for example), if any, were affected by the plague or was it an indiscriminate killer?

Predictions About the Effect of the Plague rules and regulations governing such matters as sanitation and the conduct of business? hospitals and medical knowledge? attitude of the working class toward the ruling class? The ruling class toward the working class? population in cities versus population in rural areas? (Though proximity may have led to greater mortality in cities, the period after the plague saw a movement of people from the country to the city.) labor supply? What happens to wages when there are less people to do work people want done? land usage and food supply? Before the plague there had been insufficient land to produce enough food for the population, leading to famine. What will happen to the supply of food now, with more than enough land to farm? food prices? What happens to the price of food when there is less demand? price of goods? What happens to the price of goods when there is less demand, but also fewer people to create the goods?

Wrap Up If you did not finish answering the questions from “The onset of the Black Death…” and Predictions about the Effect of the Plague, you must do this for homework. I have put copies of all the materials on my website, if you did not finish reading the materials in class. This will be due when you walk into class tomorrow. Tomorrow we will have a quiz and a constructed response. Study and be prepared for tomorrow.