How the black death changed the world

The Week ^ | March 17, 2020

[11th_VA]

The plague brought about the rise of the middle class - and pubs

The Black Death is the world’s most infamous plague, killing an estimated 75m people and profoundly changing the way survivors lived their lives.

In Europe, the disease killed half the population, and completely wiped out some towns when it struck in Britain in 1348-49.

But the Black Death returned regularly, first in 1361 and continuing - increasingly as an urban disease - until the Great Plague of 1665 in London.

Here is how it changed the world.

Social effects

We know now that deaths caused by the plague’s first outbreak came to an end in around 1350, but those living through “the pestilence” at the time would have thought everybody would die.

As a result, “moral and sexual codes were broken, while the marriage market was revitalised by those who had lost partners in the plague”...

Religion

... Clergy killed by the disease were often replaced by far less literate and far more corrupt men. This contributed to the decline in the church, and was partly what led to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century...

Genetic shift

The Black Death caused so many deaths that, even today, genetic diversity is lower in the UK than it was in the 11th century, says New Scientist.

The plague also “left a mark on the human genome, favouring those who carried certain immune system genes”, says Science magazine. “Those changes may help explain why Europeans respond differently from other people to some diseases and have different susceptibilities to autoimmune disorders.” ...

British pub culture

... The rise in wages following the plague meant that people had more disposable income, and they decided the best thing to buy with their new wages was ale.

“That’s the origin of the pub ...

[11th_VA]

Fascinating facts ... who knew ???

[Biggirl]

So this new CV could change our culture.

[Jeff Chandler]

I don’t have to hug and kiss Mrs. Chandler’s French-Canadian family any more.

[Don Corleone]

How the black death changed the world

If your ancestors didn't survive...you won't.

[11th_VA]

So this new CV could change our culture.

Absolutely - One example:

My wife works for local Gov't, and has been trying to electronically automate processes over the last three years - has gotten a lot of resistance from older employees (ie; people that file hardcopy invoices, etc). Now, she is working from home; and they are moving full ahead with eliminating hardcopy paperwork. It's expected, when the county goes back to work, there will be furloughs. Those without the technical skills, ex: understand Sharepoint, etc; will be the first to go.

[ConservativeMind]

Good post!

[canuck_conservative]

Some have also argued that with people fed up with all the death & decay around them during the Plague, afterwards a “rebound” occurred, and a new appreciation of life started - the Renaissance, which began in Florence in the early 1400s.

The Renaissance was the beginning of our modern outlook on Life, the idea that you could actually enjoy good food, good music and good clothes and not be thought of as a bad person - a stark contrast to the gloomy Church teachings of the previous centuries.

[cgbg]

Changes we can hope for:

—An end to most brick and mortar education (and a radical reduction in the cost of education)
—An end to requiring stupid commutes for jobs better done at home
—Major slashing of useless government bureaucracies who failed us—again.

[Arlis]

Telemedicine will become the norm - most doc visits will be online.

I’ve had 2 telemedicine/doc visits in the last 3 weeks with 2 different docs and have a 3rd with a 3rd doc in 2 weeks (researching alternative treatments for prostate cancer).

This will save both docs and patients tons of time and money and should have nothing but positive effects and results. It should have happened a decade or more ago.

I worked for Eli Lilly in medical computing in ‘96/’97 and expected this long ago.

Any docs listening: EMR is a royal mess and nightmare for you for only one reason: it was not designed by physicians as it should have been, but by computer geeks and accounting types. There was a school of us screaming this in the late ‘90’s - but no one would listen......

[SunkenCiv]

The Black Death caused so many deaths that, even today, genetic diversity is lower in the UK than it was in the 11th century, says New Scientist.

Nope, sorry, that's a baseless conclusion. However, the Black Death destroyed the feudal system, led to the Renassiance, rise of the middle class, the Reformation, and what passes for democracy in Europe. The EU is the political version of the Black Plague, and is in the process of trying to destroy those gains and reinstitute a non-accountable hereditary ruling class.

[blam]

I read that everyone, essentially, got a free house. Wages went up because the survivors inherited wealth.

[SunkenCiv]

• What Can the Black Death Tell us About the Global Economic Consequences of a Pandemic? [2020]
• Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history? [2020]
• Origins Of The Black Death Traced Back To China, Gene Sequencing Has Revealed; A Plague That Killed Over a Third of Europe's Population [2020]
• Plague in humans 'twice as old' but didn't begin as flea-borne, ancient DNA reveals [2019]
• Oldest Bubonic Plague Genome Decoded [2018]
• Plague Infected Humans Much Earlier Than Previously Thought [2015]
• The Mutant Genes Behind the Black Death [2015]
• Experts: Ebola Outbreak, Black Death 'Plague' Spread From Africa as Viruses [2014]
• Was Ebola Behind the Black Death? [2014]
• The Next Pandemic [2014]
• Chinese City Under Quarantine After Bubonic Plague Black Death [2014]
• New study sheds light on survivors of the Black Death [2014]
• Black Death skeletons unearthed by Crossrail project [2014]
• Black Death may have scuppered Roman Empire [2014]
• Plague decoded: Researchers link 2 of the most devastating pandemics in history [2014]
• How The Bubonic Plague Actually Saved Europe In The 14th Century (Finance) [2013]
• Plague Helped Bring Down Roman Empire [2013]

[Bob Ireland]

***the Black Death destroyed the feudal system, led to the Renassiance, rise of the middle class, the Reformation, and what passes for democracy in Europe. The EU is the political version of the Black Plague, and is in the process of trying to destroy those gains and reinstitute a non-accountable hereditary ruling class***

Very insightful...
AND, today the Black Death is advertised for sale on television almost every day - as a means of facial cosmetic improvement among other reasons {Nancy Pelosi?} ((botulinum toxin)).

[Billthedrill]

It's an old social history case, some of which needs to be taken with a grain of post hoc ergo propter hoc salt. Even today you could get a raise by killing off 30% of your competition and increasing market demand but that's not taking into consideration that you've also killed off 30% of your management and customers, i.e. market demand. Most of the peasants who found they could demand wages after the 14th century were still subject to upper class predation and damn grateful simply to survive.

Great book on the topic is Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror. Highly recommended.

[Vaduz]

That’s what you say after 3 nights on the sofa you’ll be eating crow.
Never make your wife mad she will clean the toilet bowl with your tooth brush and more.

[wildbill]

While working on a Master’s a few years ago I wrote a paper on Geo-political issues that affected the turn of Europe to exploration West.

Part of the research was on the Plague and its carryover. I found that there was a particular area of Germany or Austria that had NO cases of plague, possibly from some genetic immunity. I believe there were a couple of places in England that had the same experience.

[Rebelbase]

“The rise in wages following the plague meant that people had more disposable income, and they decided the best thing to buy with their new wages was ale.”

A centuries long tradition now.

[minnesota_bound]

FTA: Within a year of the onset of the plague, in 1349, a law was introduced barring labourers from getting higher wages due to the shortage of workers. In 1363, another law was introduced banning lower classes from wearing high-quality cloth and attempting to limit their diet to basic foods.

---

The democrats are doing this now with banning store owners from selling what the democrats say are essential items.
Importing low wage people from other countries to suppress the wages here in America.

[minnesota_bound]

Correction....
The democrats are doing this now with banning store owners from selling what the democrats say are “NON” essential items.
Importing low wage people from other countries to suppress the wages here in America.