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When the plague hit the shores of Italy in 1347 decimating the population of Europe and armies while Europe was on the brink of the Hundred Years War, it had huge and far-reaching consequences on the social, moral, economical, ecological structures and welfare of the world in general and Europe in particular.

The plague of Justinian the Great in 542 AD had already helped to bring the Roman Empire to its knees. When it came again to Europe in a devastating wave it killed an estimated third of Europe’s population.
The impact of this horrendous disease was enormous. It struck rich and poor alike; old and young; noble; chaste; from the king to the beggar – it seemingly spared none. It had no rhyme or reason, it made a mockery of both.

The plague severely weakened belief in, and the foundations of, The Church – priests were unable to explain the blight on humanity, nor help anyone (themselves included) avoid it. The word of God no longer answered questions or brought solace. Many thought God was punishing them for something and formed separatist cults, one of which were the Flagellants. These took to the streets, whipping themselves bloody to absolve themselves of their sins.

Some decided that there was no God, and considering it mattered not what one did or didnt do, the only recourse was to be a complete libertine and hedonist and have no morals at all, just enjoy as much as possible, as fast as possible before death got you.

Children were left without families, and grew up with the sight of naked, dead bodies all around them. The idea of families, morality, all that made no sense anymore. They were hardened to such things and formed lawless gangs of marauders. Women were left to die because the male was the one who carried the family name, thus more important.

People needed to lay the blame for the Plague somewhere – vicious anti-semitism became rampant, as did persecution of anyone who was different in any way, not to mention lepers, witches, the handicapped, people with visible afflictions et al.

Medical advance ground to a halt; art and sculpture was influenced and heavily focused on death and dying; there was a lack of craftsmen, architects; builders; tradesman; agriculture – all were devastated by the plague and the consistent return of the plague for centuries.
Monasteries were abandoned, and as the old monks died, new ones who had little interest in piety and little training took their places and used the church to gather wealth and have a better but corrupt life. This lack of devoutness later enabled Henry VIII’s dismantling of the monasteries for example, as they were accused of corruption. It also sowed the seeds for the Reformation.
Some argue that the advent of the plague was the precursor to modern capitalism. It more or less began the dismantling of the feudal system, as due to death there were great labour shortages. The nobility began to offer better conditions to the peasants in order for them to stay and work the land. Salaries were given, and serfs were suddenly free to leave their places to seek better conditions elsewhere. Laws were passed to try and hem in the peasants finally leading to the Peasant’s Revolt in 1381.
Taxes were raised and inflation occurred with the price of bread rising and inciting the poor to demand rights and a change in their lot.
Huge tracts of land became worthless with noone to till them. Economies began to evolve away from relying on land as the primary source of wealth, thus giving rise to the idea of “portable wealth”.
There were no soldiers to fight wars, no farmers to till lands, everything and everyone, even the weather, was held ransom to the Plague.
According to a study conducted by the University of Utrecht, Europe's 300 year old "Little Ice Age" may have been triggered by the 14th Century Black Death plague. Pollen and leaf data support the idea that millions of trees sprang up on abandoned farmland, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, causing a cooling of the climate.

So what would have happened in 1347, and beyond, if that little flea and its family had not sat on the rat, that snuggled in the hold of a merchant ship bound for Venice?
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