Adam's Dbq

Adam Black
The Black Plague blazed through Europe during the late 1300’s, wiping out nearly one third of the population, leaving death and destruction in its path. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Black Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. Many factors like depopulation, decreasing trade, and huge shifts in travel occurred during the Black Plague. There were also many different beliefs and concerns that arose leading to the deterioration of society, which started with superstition, then lead to fear, and ended with exploitation.
Superstition during the Black Plague was mainly religious but also supernatural was as many people during this time turned to God and the church for a cure and hope. This religious superstition is evidenced by Lisabetta Centenni, (document 7) a housewife in Italy, commented on her husband's rapid recovery upon being fed a piece of bread that had been touched by a saint. Another religious superstition (document 16) which believed that the plague was sent by God, in punishment for people's sins. Another was seen in Sir John Reresby, (document 12) when he stated that he trusted in God to determine his faith during the Plague. Also in Father Dragoni, (document 9) when the Health Magistracy sent a priest to sanitize the area, when they normally would have sent a health official. Theses all showed the peoples willingness to turn to superstition rather than reason.
Fear of the Black Plague mainly came from people not knowing what its origin was. The theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (document 2) recognizes this fear, seeking to blame the cause of the Plague in England because of the filth on the street. This fear can also be seen in by the wealthy as the representative of the Frankish king Staden (document 5) claims that the houses of the sick were immediately nailed up after the doctors visited them. Another example when Pepys (document 13) the English naval bureaucrat, a part of...