The Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most severe epidemics in human history. It took place in Europe from 1347 to 1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed many villages. This disease wiped out anything that was in its path. The Black Death took a devastating toll on human life, but at the same time played a major role in shaping European life in the years that followed.I feel that people acted in many ways that increased the plague. As Bocaccio stated, there were several groups of people in which all reacted in different ways. Some people felt that the only way to avoid infection was to run away from the ill. People were scared for their lives, and feared the ill intensely. These people choose to live separate and tried to avoid any contact with outsiders. They left loved ones to die with this horrible disease all alone and scared. Another group of people that Bocaccio described acted as if they were going to die anyway so they tried to make the best of it. They seemed as if they didn't care about themselves or others and enjoyed themselves to the fullest with drinking, eating and partying. Many people kept their distance from one another whether they were infected or not. Ever
People reached a point where death didn't affect them emotionally. It seemed as if they didn't care about the death of others more then they did for the death of a farm animal. Farmers didn't even take care of their fields as well as their animals. This then contributed to the end of the feudal system. The women didn't care if a man was looking over them because the help for the sick was scarce. In addition to better work opportunities, survivors of the plague had a surplus of material goods. As the plague grew and more people were becoming ill the customs that families once had almost became extinct. This was because their servants were already dead or ran off to prevent illness. Bodies were left in the streets like garbage. The people of Florence more or less abandoned their religious practices. The plague took such a toll on human life that the graveyards were filled to the top. People choose to flee the area in which they lived that was infected with this plague. The sick would most likely die a lonely death with no one to neither weep over him or her nor care for him or her. The fact that so many people had died, there was a huge labor shortage. This was for their safety of becoming infected with the Black Plague.
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