The Black Death:
History’s Most Devastating Pandemic
BY LORRAINE BERTAN,
CULTURE COMMITTEE
The Black Death (bubonic plague) may
have killed 50 million people in medieval
Europe during its time. It was responsi-ble
for many societal and genetic changes that
resulted when it ended.
How are the Black Death and the Covid-19
pandemics similar and how are they different?
The Black Death was caused by bacteria and
Covid-19 is caused by a virus. The bacteri-um
which causes bubonic plague is known
as Yersina pestis and was discovered by Dr.
Alexander Yersin in 1898 during an epidem-ic
in Hong Kong. Examination of skeletal
remains in London dating from 1350s con-firmed
the existence of the bacterium. The
devastation of the plague has been chronicled
in Giovanni Bocaccio’s “Decameron” in 1348.
Bocaccio describes how wealthy people left
plague-infested Florence for the country. Does
that parallel how people in New York City are
leaving for safer areas during the Covid-19
pandemic?
There are several areas of origin attributed
to the Black Death, and many believe it came
from Asia following trade and shipping routes.
Fleas carried by rats and human lice may be
possible vectors of the Black Death bacteria,
similar to the outbreak of the Hanta virus in
the Western United States in 1993, which was
carried by mice. Possible animal carriers for
the Covid-19 virus may be bats and pangolins.
Pangolins are mammals whose hair is com-pressed
into scales and their meat is highly
prized in Asia.
How was human society affected by
the death of almost 50 million peo-ple
in Europe, Asia and North Africa
during the time of the plague? Wealthy
and poor alike were subject to the
plague, and wealthy people could
leave or insulate themselves against
the pandemic, but not all could
escape the plague. Who would
provide food and services for those
still in the towns and cities? Europe
had a feudalistic society at that time,
and landowners did not have enough
laborers to work in the fields, caus-ing
shortages. Since the plague affected much
of Europe, wars came to a temporary halt.
Uprisings against the nobility occurred along
with attacks against Jews and other minorities.
Prices rose, and the serfs became empowered
because of the shortage of labor. Eventually the
standard of living was raised for many people
and some of the class distinctions became less
pronounced.
What were some
of the genetic
changes occurring
in the population
after the Black
Death? There will
always be small
groups of people
who are immune
and survive epi-demics.
A genetic
shift occurs in the
surviving popula-tion,
known as
“genetic drift.”
The smaller sur-viving
population
carries immunity
to future gener-ations,
which
show increased life
spans. However,
there is a downside to small populations,
loss of genetic diversity. This happened to the
American bison during the western expan-sion
of the United States when enormous
numbers of bison were killed, reducing the
population. Theodore Roosevelt established
preserves to protect the bison, increasing their
population and genetic diversity. The loss of
genetic diversity after a plague or famine or
natural disaster is known as “bottleneck.” As
resources became more available, populations
returned to the emptied out cities and towns
after the plague, population and immigration
throughout Europe increased, restoring genetic
diversity.
What events were associated in the recovery
after the plague? Although the population was
severely reduced, those who could farm and
perform essential services were able to take
advantage of resources and people became
healthier and human lifespan increased.
Feudalism ended in Western Europe and
the more prosperous survivors experienced
a surge in upward mobility: the development
of a middle class. Chaucer writes about the
change in dress codes for various social classes
in the Canterbury Tales in 1387. Bubonic plague
returned again and again in Europe, but without
the devastating effects of the Black Death of
the mid 1300’s. Daniel Defoe wrote about the
bubonic plague which affected London in 1665.
There is no effective vaccine against bubonic
plague and since it is a bacterial infection, it is
treated with antibiotics. The most recent out-break
of bubonic plague was in Madagascar
in 2017.
Many believe the plague spread via marine trade routes
June 2020 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 25