Affecting of Black Death

Many people see the Black Death as a devastating event that occurred in the past. In today’s world, no one has physically been through the Bubonic Plague, but reading, seeing and hearing about it gives chills to people. There were many effects of the Black Death that was extremely horrifying. People were affected in many ways. The Black Death was affecting society socially, economically and in health by the Black Death.

When people hear the phrase Black Death, they think about individuals who were killed because of this awful disease that spread throughout Europe and Asia back in the day. People back then were happy because there was a lot of social interaction with other people. Men would be working with their coworkers while women and children were at home interacting with their neighbors. Nowadays, people are using technology as a means to communicate with people who are around them and also far away. Studies have shown that “in today’s digital age the importance of face-to-face communication seems to be fading” (Ashton 2013). However, in the past, it was not a problem because people would go to each other’s houses and have conversations that would last for quite some time. When the Bubonic Plague arrived, visiting each other’s places decreased because people were genuinely afraid that this disease might affect their loved ones. In fact, “people abandoned their friends and family, fled cities, and shut themselves off from the world” in order to escape the plague (Decameron 2010). This disease was socially affecting the society because it made communication really weak and it also decreased it as a whole. During this whole-time frame, people were not only going through the Bubonic Plague, but they were also going through depression, isolation and ignoring the fact that the Black Death existed. The society was already in shock about how people were just dying so quickly that they decided not to acknowledge this. Instead, they would enjoy themselves by drinking, eating, dancing, having fun and doing all various kinds of things that would distract them from thinking about the Bubonic Plague. Some people would cry their hearts about because they lost their loved ones. Other people would just lock themselves and their families up to prevent them from getting the disease. The Black Death affected the society in ways where people would not know how to respond to these happenings. People would not have any words to say anything about it because they were frightened, disturbed, reluctant and unhappy. Them experiencing all of these emotions at the same time was unexpected and destructive.

Today’s economy is really different than the economy back in the day. As usual, the economy goes up and down and is not really consistent. In the past, an individual would get a job based on their class. However, when the Bubonic Plague arrived, everything changed. Laborers were demanding for more money since there were fewer people to work. In fact, the Black Death made the lower-class gain money and the upper class lose money because they had fewer people to work but had to give more money since wages were rising. During that time, the serfs were the ones who were at a benefit the most because they “were no longer tied to one master; if one left the land, another lord would instantly hire them.” In this way, they were making money and saving it as well since there was a need for workers during that period. The Black Death also had an impact on the Kings because they were the ones who were holding the economy together due to the fact, they had all of the money. Another tragic incident that was happening with families was that they were losing the sons of the family because the plague was really contagious that it could jump on any person any time and anywhere. It got to the point, where people would not go to the market to trade, go to hospitals to get checkups done, or any special event because everyone thought that the end of the world is here, and they wanted to survive from it. Studies have shown that the Black Death had killed between seventeen to twenty-eight million people. The Plague had many negative effects economically, however; it also had positive effects on places that were not built to be surrounded by a huge crowd of people. During that time, people who could afford a living lived in cities that were advanced on a higher level. Once the plague came, it ruined those good cities because they were infected of the plague. Consequently, those cities and towns that were not well developed were starting to get developed because there was a less chance of getting infected after all there was not a huge population over there. Those rural cities and towns were rising and cities that were infected of the plague were falling. In this way, “small towns and cities grew, while large estates and manors began to collapse (Pests 2018).” The Black Death made some people grow economically, and some not grow.

The Bubonic Plague was a terrifying event in history because it had changed many things in the past. The Black Death changed countries socially and economically that had a massive impact on the coming years back then and today. In today’s world, the Black Death is remembered as a heartbreaking occurrence that will be given honor today and in the future.

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