WI: No Black Death?

Feudalism would've lasted for one thing since there's no labor shortage. Also with a larger population, maybe an earlier Age of Discovery/Exploration.
 
Would the Reformation and the Renaissance have occurred if there was no Black Death? I believe it has been suggested that the Reformation was important in breaking down people´s trust in the Catholic Church and that the Black Death also was important for the Renaissance, as it lead to more wealth, since there were less people to divide the available resources.
 

B-29_Bomber

Banned
Feudalism would've lasted for one thing since there's no labor shortage. Also with a larger population, maybe an earlier Age of Discovery/Exploration.

By the time of the Black Death feudalism was already on the way out.

With out the Black Death you'd probably see a more gradual phasing out than OTL. Indeed, you'd probably see more "Russias"* and "Frances"* by the time the Enlightenment ideals come into being.

*i.e. states that are still largely feudal and use the Serf System and are forced into a revolution due to bad times.
 
Would the Reformation and the Renaissance have occurred if there was no Black Death? I believe it has been suggested that the Reformation was important in breaking down people´s trust in the Catholic Church and that the Black Death also was important for the Renaissance, as it lead to more wealth, since there were less people to divide the available resources.

One of the problems the Catholic Church faced after the black death was a shortage of priests. As a result they accepted people into the clergy that they otherwise would not have making the church as a whole more prone to abuse and impropriety.
 
One of the problems the Catholic Church faced after the black death was a shortage of priests. As a result they accepted people into the clergy that they otherwise would not have making the church as a whole more prone to abuse and impropriety.

Another problem was the selection pressure. The good priests/monks cared for the poor and sick - and died with them. Leaving the bad ones in charge, and to set the tone.

OK, so this is a gross oversimplification. But it was a factor.
 
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