The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, was a pandemic in the 14th century caused by a bacteria carried by fleas that lived on rats. The rats spread the fleas and disease to people through their fur. Symptoms included black swellings under the armpits and groin, purple bleeding under the skin, and death within 5 days. It is estimated to have killed 25-50% of Europe's population between 1347-1350 as the disease spread from ships arriving from Asia. The long-term effects included a loss of community spirit, rise of individualism, labor shortages, higher wages, and a shift in artistic representations from beauty to images of death.

1. Black Death…

2. What is black death?
Black death is also known as bubonic plague.
It is a disease caused by a bacteria that lived in
the bellies of fleas.
The fleas traveled in the fur of rats.
The rats carried the fleas to people.
The fleas then bit people and passed on the
disease.

3. Symptoms:
-egg-sized black swellings
under the armpits and in
the groin
-purple bleeding under the
skin
-swellings burst - blood
and pus
-terrible odor
-victims faces turned black
-death within 5 days…

4. Date: 1347-1350
-Bubonic plague
came from Asia
aboard ships.
-The rats on ships
carried the disease
into cities.
-City people suffered
the most because
they lived close
together.

5. How many people died?
-Cairo, Egypt –200,000 deaths
-Venice, Italy – 60% of the population died
-Paris, France – 50,000 deaths
-London, England – 35-40% of the population died
-China – 13,000,000 deaths
-Europe – 25,000,000 deaths
*1/3 of the population of
Europe died from Black Death

6. Some other rather gross facts:
-So many people died they
couldn’t keep up with burying
everyone. Many bodies were
thrown into mass graves.
-When ships docked at a port
the people on board were not
allowed to enter the city.
-In one instance, bodies of
the dead were thrown over the
walls of a city to infect an
enemy town.

7. Some images drawn from the
time of Black Death
.

12. What was the long-term result of
the plague?
-loss of sense of “community”
-”individualism” – live for yourself;
don’t worry about your neighbor;
live for pleasure
-major labor shortages
-peasants and other laborers demanded higher wages
-man was no longer God’s favored creature
-images of death replaced images of love and beauty in art
-the Church was criticized for not helping more