The Bubonic Plague

Bubonic Plague (1300s)

Period: Jan 1, 1300 to Jan 1, 1400

The bubonic plague was a deadly disease that spread across Asia and Europe in the mid-14th century, killing millions of people.
How was it caused?
The bubonic plague came from small rodents and fleas.
Who did it affect?
The epidemic struck parts of Asia, North Africa, and Europe. About one-third of the population in Europe died from the bubonic plague.

Genoese merchant ships arrive in Sicily

Dec 11, 1347

These merchant ships arrived carrying the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death. What changes happened politically, economically, and socially due to this plague? Town populations fell. Trade declined - prices rose. Serfs left the manor to find better wages. Nobles fiercely resisted peasant demands for higher wages, causing peasant revolts in England, France, Italy, and Belgium. Jews were blamed for bringing on the plague-Jews were driven from their home or massacred.