How Would History Be Different, Had The Black Death Not Occurred?

If the plague had never occurred there might be more people, but if you consider the state medicine was in at the time, something else might have come along and done the same thing the plague did.

You may not realize it, but the plague was behind progress and it encouraged the economy. It also was responsible for the growth of cities and a change in the status of the aristocracy and the peasantry.

The ruling class that survived was without the services of the of the peasants. There were few left to be servants and to tend their fields for them. Those who had filled those roles and survived, realized that they could now demand wages for their services. They also saw that they were no longer at the mercy of the rich. Why should they serve the privileged when they could move to the cities where they could demand better wages? Those who stayed behind had inherited land from relatives who had died. They could have larger farms of their own, and they worked for themselves.

Add Comment

Report

The Black Death was one of the most deadly pandemics in human history caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis.
It began in Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s. The total number of deaths from the pandemic is estimated at 85 million people. The history therefore would be totally different. There would be more people, more progress, more economic strength.

Add Comment

Report

Well, in Europe at least it led to slightly higher living standards for the peasant classes, but urbanization in booming areas like Italy also got delayed, which in turn delayed the start of the Renaissance. As an aside the Black Death increased the persecution of Jews in Western Europe and drove many from Germany and France farther east. There would definitely be more Jews today.

Add Comment

Report