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Taylor Kuebelbeck
Thesis Paper U.S History
Though the Black Plague was viewed as a terrible disease that killed 25 million people. The
Black Plague actually benefited Europe because it helped advance Economic Benefits,
Technological Benefits and Medical Benefits.
The black plague had killed 25 to 40 million people in the European nation, A third of the
population was affected by the terrible disease. As a result, the number of work services was
dramatically reduced which created the desired need among farmers to attend their fields. Taking
the opportunity to improve their lives and future, Labourers demanded higher wages, better
working conditions and fewer responsibilities from their leaders. With the redistribution of
wealth, the depopulated community reinforced themselves and the economy of Europe boomed.
Large neighbourhoods replaced small villages, buildings grew in size and regional centres and
cities grew bigger at a rapid pace as labourers and servants were drawn in from the countryside.
The Plague created an environment so hard for people to find jobs in Europe, It helped
with the development in man labour technology, people started looking for more efficient ways
to work to help with the demands of the European economy. A fantastic invention during the
disease was a Printing press made by Johann Gutenberg, it replaced the huge number of monastic
copyists who died during the disease and allowed books to be made at affordable prices for
growing classes or merchants and professionals. After the Black Plague there fewer men
willingly to fight in the Army, Wages for soldiers and the cost of war increased. All of this led to
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mass development of firearms which included cannons, Muskets and weapons that could cause a
massive damage in battle to makeup for less soldiers. Because of the increased demand of metal
for guns, there was a growth in mining, which made advances in mining technology. There were
developments in water pumps, and new ways in shaft shoring helping miners dig safer and
deeper.
In the first wave of the Plague, doctors and many priests stated that medicine was useless,
and all that could be done was to pray to God. Soon praying seemed to be an ineffective plan
against the disease. The people of Europe started to become more relative to scientific methods.
They concluded that traditional medicine failed to improve the situation, medical practitioners
attempted to explain its origins and start to develop new methods to prevent the disease. Before
the plague hospitals were institutions designed to isolate the sick from society, rather than
finding a way to fight the disease. After the Black Plague hospitals invested in a new role
transforming them into institutions that were committed to a cure the disease and not to isolate it,
which gradually led to findings of new medicines and significant ways to treat patients.
The Black Plague brought upon immense scientific and economic benefits to the people
of Europe through a series of breakthroughs in medicine and technology that revolutionized the
medieval world. The Black Plague brought profound economic benefits for the people of Europe,
giving rise to new and exciting opportunities that presented significant changes to the known
structure of society. The Black Plague led to the rise and development of labour-saving
technology, which not only fulfilled the demands of the Europe’s booming economy, but also
brought great welfare to its people. The disease of the Plague radically changed the way people
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viewed medicine, spurring numerous developments and ideas that enabled administrators to
control subsequent diseases with a more scientific approach. The Black Plague shattered
traditional thinking, allowed the people of Europe to realize their shortcomings, which affected
their way of life, the way they thought, and opened up their minds to new ideas that perhaps
accelerated the medieval period into the beginning of the Renaissance.
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Works Cited
“Plague Information and Facts.” Information and Facts | National Geographic, 18 Jan. 2017,
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/the-plague/.
