Black+Plague

Created by: Alyssa Farmer __** Black Plague **__ The Black Plague is a very contagious disease. It is caused by fleas that attach themselves to rats, and then to humans. This disease comes in three forms- bubonic variant, pneumonic plague, and septicemic version. The most common type is the bubonic plague. This is when large swellings start to appear on a person. If someone has this, they usually only have a life expectancy of about a week longer, and some people even die within three days. The pneumonic plague attacks the respiratory system and is spread when a person breathes the exhaled air of an infected person. The septicemic version attacks the blood system.
 * What the Black Plague is: **

** Where it occured: ** This plague started in Venice, Italy and then spread across all of Europe in 1348.

The reason that it spread so quickly was because of the fact that people lived so close together, and that there was so much filth, which was one of the reasons why the number of rats increased. Many people had believed that it was the Church officials who were responsible for the spread of the plague, because the amount of infected clergy had been increasing. The disease would attack religious people and rulers, and God could not even protect them. This caused the Church to lose authority during the plague, and had very few loyal followers.
 * How it spread: **

Because of the plague, about a third of the population died over three years. Also, about 60% of the people that are infected end up dying. Some of the symptoms include high fevers, aching limbs, and vomiting of blood. When black or purple spots appeared on any part of a person, it was usually a sign of death.
 * What the effects were: **

The disease impacted them greatly because they could not get as many things done with so many people having the disease. For example, fields were not ploughed because most men had the disease. Also, animals could not be tended to because of the disease, so people had to suffer from starvation. It got in the way of many things and changed many people's lives for the worse.
 * How the lives of people were affected: **

Some positive effects of the plague were that some land was cleared up and the few survivors could inherit the land from their relatives. Also, it left the survivors in a position of strength. For the first time, the lower-class could refuse orders from the upper-class. After the plague, people had better hygiene.
 * Positive effects: **

There is really no way to avoid it, unless you get far enough away from the fleas as possible. Medical knowledge could also not help it, because nobody knew anything about contagious diseases.
 * Cures for the disease: **

About a third of the population died, which meant that work could not get done. Also, the Church starts to play a big role in European lives. Because of so many deaths, people had a desire to want life, and to open up to new ideas. Although the Black Plague was a terrible time in Europe, it actually helped many people.
 * The Outcome: **

"The Black Death, 1348." 14 April 2009 . "The Black Death of 1348- 1350." 16 April 2009 . "The Middle Ages: The Black Death." 17 April 2009 .
 * Works Cited:**