By: Caroline Caridi and Mikey Riley The Black Death

The Black Death was a medieval pandemic that swept through Asia and Europe from the time of 1348 through This plague killed an estimated 25–60% of Europeans. Some estimates are as high as 2/3 of the population. Most of the experts agree that the pandemic was the result of fleas who lived on rats and other rodents which were common at the time. These fleas carried a bacteria called Yersinia pestis (or Y. pestis). What was the Black Death?

Due to the population growth in Europe before the plague, there were more people and animals crowded in cities. This provided the perfect environment for disease. The population declined sharply—and then rebounded. Both the loss and the replenishment of the population had significant effects on all aspects of society, from agriculture to family structure to military adventuring. The plague continued to return to Europe, with epidemics every few years through the end of the fifteenth century. This continued to impact Europe’s population rate. Another idea which could have been the cause of the pandemic involved Europe’s social and political structure, which, at the time, was feudalism. A very small portion of the population would have had much more than others. However, the majority of the people had close to nothing. Because they had nothing, they were limited in opportunity to advance themselves and their families with cures to sicknesses or even better hygiene. The result of this was the feudal system began to weaken after the plague hit Europe. How did The Black Death impact European history?