The Black Death
Storyboard Text
- 1. In 1333, the province of Hopei in northeastern China experienced an epidemic that destroyed about two-thirds of the population. The epidemic caused the death of 5 million Chinese people. It eventually arrived in Europe through trading and merchant ships in 1347, starting with Messina Sicily.
- 2. People on merchant ships continued to spread the plague with rats and fleas on board. When they realized, it was too late. By 1348, the Black Death arrived in Bristol, one of the busiest ports in Europe and it reached other coastal towns and eventually spread to the rest of England quickly due to poor hygiene and conditions.
- 3. Between 1348 and 1350, the church recorded 20,000 deaths in London. Infection was indiscriminate but urban peasants and poor people were particularly affected due to their unsanitary living conditions and lack of money/food. The most unhealthy places were the most vulnerable.
- 4. Rich people were the least affected as they were able to flee or isolate themselves and they lived in better conditions. People were devastated as the plague killed many, wiping out entire villages and towns.
- 5. Eighteen months after the plague reached London, about 400,000 people perished. People were buried in mass graves, particularly those who were poor, due to the lack of space. Multiple cemeteries were opened as the death toll increased.
- 6. By the end of the epidemic, villages had been abandoned and about one-third to one-half of Europe had died. Despite people thinking that it was the end of the world, the epidemic eventually stopped. There were now fewer people and life was better for them because there was more food to go around and prices fell. Landlords had to pay more money to attract labourers and peasants were freer and better of. A shortage of workers meant people now had higher wages. For the survivors of the plague, life improved.
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