Anthony L. SmithInstructor CookEnglish IV11 November 2013The Shades of the Black DeathImagine half of a continent dying for seemingly no reason, all in the space of two years. The devastation caused to families would be unbearable. This is exactly what happened just 700 years ago in Europe. Arguably the darkest and most devastating catastrophe of that century, yet the cause of the deaths remains a question. One “thing” has been confirmed; the deaths were caused by a plague. Three strands of the plague were pneumonic, bubonic and septicemic. All three had similar symptoms, such as fever and chills; however, distinct symptoms have also been noted. In pneumonia, people had blood in their sputum and difficulty breathing, while septicemic plague caused tissue death in their fingertips and nose. Bubonic plague, the focus of this research paper, was the most popular strain of the plague. This strain caused swollen lymph nodes and buboes under the arms and around the groin area. The plague was airborne, spread by rat and flea bites. All three of these strains were very painful. The Black Death was a major epidemic from 1348 to 1350, but remained a threat until the Fire of London in 1666. Over 50 million Europeans were affected by this deadly disease, which sparked rising inflation, urban immorality and peasant and the challenges to the authorities of the Church. Different theories about contracting the disease brought different twists to this era. The Black Death is commonly believed to have begun in Central Asia in the early 1300s. The plague is believed to have been brought to Europe in October 1347 when 12 ships docked in Sicily. On the ships there were dead and sickly sailors who had the plague. Sicilian citizen......middle of paper......ls. They admitted they did so thinking they would be alone, but they and much of their community were murdered because of it. People began to doubt God and do things their own way. They became frustrated with questions about why God would allow this to happen. As the death toll from the plague became higher and higher, people became truly sad and depressed over the loss of friends and loved ones. As jobs were more available after the plague began, people began to earn more, but food and taxes also became more expensive. As prices rose, so did the farmers' spirits. Violence was not uncommon in European cities. The riots were a way to release stress. The plague became an epidemic again in 1665 and killed around 100,000 people that summer. In 1666 the fire of London helped to suppress the plague to the point that it no longer spread as much as before.