One of the most negative occurrences in human history was the Black Death pandemic. Between 1347 and 1350, it comprised a number of social, economic, and religious changes that had a tremendous impact on Europe. The annihilation of populations, which led to the deaths of between 30% and 60% of Europe's entire population, was the pandemic's most catastrophic side effect. Additionally, the world was destroyed, bringing the population down from 450 million to somewhere between 350 and 370 million. Cities and towns throughout Europe were destroyed, companies collapsed, and Jewish communities were decimated since they were thought to be the cause of the plague (Corzine, 1997). Exportation of products and foodstuff was prohibited, leading to the collapse of business, social problems and hunger. England was not able to buy food and other commodities abroad, and crime increased as pirates and looters hijacked the available shipments. Governments exhausted much of their finance, leading to inflation and overall economic distress. Europe faced malnutrition, poverty, hunger, war, inflation, disease and other socioeconomic problems. However, the pandemic also caused positive consequences including increased demand for labor and opportunities for peasants, especially during the recovery from the pandemic in 1350s.
Specifically in Italy, the Black Death caused a significant reduction of populations, and destroyed cities. For instance, Florence was the most affected. Its population reduced from an estimated 110,000 before the pandemic to an all-time low of 50,000 people (Ziegler, 2017). The Black Death also caused profound impact on social, economic, religious and cultural practices of Italy. The plague was spread from Russia to Italy by Genoese merchants who were escaping Mongol. Coupled with famine and food shortage, the disease reduced the urban populations significantly before spreading to rural areas. For fear of the disease, traders declined, leading to devastating economic effects. It also caused businesses to collapse, and employment to decrease. The Black Death also caused social breakdown as violence and crime increased in cities such as Milan, Florence and Rome. Despite these negative effects, the positive impact of the plague was profound in 1350s. The pandemic reduced the country’s labor force significantly. When the plague finally ended, wages for urban workers in Florence and other big cities increased significantly. Farming output also increased, leading to improving economic conditions. The changes directly and indirectly led to the period of renaissance when art flourished in Italy, especially Florence.
Figure 1: Church fresco (Corzine, 1997).
The figure above shows a painting that shows the conditions of people from the Black Death. They look very weak. The church behind them shows that the church was not spared by the disaster.
As the economy of Italy increased as a result of increased farm production and increased wages, sophisticated technologies emerged, leading to renaissance. The period caused elites such as De Medici in Florence to develop great artistic works (Ziegler, 2017). Other artists also emerged, including Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Renaissance means rebirth. It was a time of revival from Black Death; a time when intellectual and artistic revival was experienced in Italy.
Figure 2: Dance of Death (Corzine, 1997).
The figure above is a good example of the artworks that resulted from the 15th woodcut that explained the renaissance after the Black Death. It has some images of people’s skeletons, showing how the plague left people in skeletons.
References
Corzine, P. (1997). The Black death. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books.
Ziegler, P. (2017). The Black Death. New York: New Word City Inc.
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