The Economic Consequences of the Black Death
Paolo Malanima
Contact with other animals was the cause of the worst infectious illnesses
that have affected the human species in past agrarian societies.
Various strains of influenza, smallpox, malaria, plague, measles, and cholera were provoked by infections which first affected domestic animals or those non-domestic species with
which humans came into contact, such as mice, fleas or lice and were then transmitted from animals to humans and from humans to other animals. In pre-modern agrarian societies, between two thirds and three quarters of deaths were caused by infectious diseases.
Only in recent times has what is defined as an epidemic transition taken place. In 18th–19th century Europe there was a shift from illnesses transmittable from one person to another to degenerative non-infectious diseases. The mortality rate has depended to a lesser degree on bacteria and viruses and on the inter-specific struggle among different animal species.
Great epidemics mark the agricultural world of the past; from Neolithic times
onwards. The formation of much denser societies with respect to those of hunters
and gatherers, and daily contact with domestic animals are at the origins of serious
epidemic infections which have accompanied humans for 10,000 years. Among
these are infections of the digestive system – typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera --; infections of the breathing apparatus, transmitted through the air -- smallpox, diphtheria, measles, influenza --: infections of the reproductive system -- syphilis and venereal diseases in general --; diseases introduced into tissue and into the blood stream deriving from insect bites -- plague, typhoid fever, yellow fever and malaria --.
Density and mobility of population, and poor diet have often been regarded as determinants of these epidemics. The relationship between population and resources plays an important role, but chance also plays a role in the spread of infections.
The existence of the plague in Europe from the 14th until the 18th century has
been discussed in recent years. Although some differences exist between the medieval disease and the one directly observed by modern epidemiologists, the prevailing opinion is still that the Black Death was actually caused by plague.
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Monday, March 30, 2020
Plague
Social and Economic Effects of the Plague
The plague had large scale social and economic effects, many of which are recorded in the introduction of the Decameron. People abandoned their friends and family, fled cities, and shut themselves off from the world. Funeral rites became perfunctory or stopped altogether, and work ceased being done. Some felt that the wrath of God was descending upon man, and so fought the plague with prayer. Some felt that they should obey the maxim, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die." The society experienced an upheaval to an extent usually only seen in controlled circumstances such as carnival. Faith in religion decreased after the plague, both because of the death of so many of the clergy and because of the failure of prayer to prevent sickness and death.
The economy underwent abrupt and extreme inflation. Since it was so difficult (and dangerous) to procure goods through trade and to produce them, the prices of both goods produced locally and those imported from afar skyrocketed. Because of illness and death workers became exceedingly scarce, so even peasants felt the effects of the new rise in wages. The demand for people to work the land was so high that it threatened the manorial holdings. Serfs were no longer tied to one master; if one left the land, another lord would instantly hire them. The lords had to make changes in order to make the situation more profitable for the peasants and so keep them on their land. In general, wages outpaced prices and the standard of living was subsequently raised.
As a consequence of the beginning of blurring financial distinctions, social distinctions sharpened. The fashions of the nobility became more extravagant in order to emphasize the social standing of the person wearing the clothing. The peasants became slightly more empowered, and revolted when the aristocracy attempted to resist the changes brought about by the plague. In 1358, the peasantry of northern France rioted, and in 1378 disenfranchised guild members revolted. The social and economic structure of Europe was drastically and irretrievably changed.
(Ed: D.S.) Courie, Leonard W. The Black Death and Peasant's Revolt. New York: Wayland Publishers, 1972; Strayer, Joseph R., ed. Dictionary of the Middle Ages. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Vol. 2. pp. 257-267.
Other Pages in Plague: Effects
Social and Economic Effects of the Plague |
The Death Toll
The plague, named the Black Death by later historians, had a devastating effect on the European population in the fourteenth century.
Overview
The diffusion of crops and pathogens, including epidemic diseases like the bubonic plague, often occured along trade routes.
The bubonic plague - named the Black Death by later historians - was caused by the yersinia pestis bacteria, which lived in rodent populations and was spread by fleas that had bitten infected animals.
Once the plague transferred to animals that were in close contact with humans and to humans themselves, it began to spread along established trade routes.
It is difficult to measure the exact human cost of the plague due to limited records from the historical period.
Most historians think that the plague killed somewhere between 30% and 60% of Europe’s population between 1347 and 1351.
Trade and disease
The spread of disease and trade went hand in hand, and no event illustrates this relationship better than the outbreak of bubonic plague in the mid-14th century, an event more commonly known today as the Black Death.
In a passage from his book titled The Decameron, Florence, Italy resident Giovani Boccaccio described the Black Death, which reached Florence in 1348:
It first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumors in the groin or the armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg, some more, some less . . .
From the two said parts of the body this deadly [bubo] soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, now few and large, then minute and numerous.
Historians and epidemiologists are confident that the Black Death originated in east-central Asia, which raises the question: How did the plague make it to Europe?
To understand how the plague spread, we need to understand how the disease was transmitted, along with the broader economic and political contexts that made its spread possible.
By the 1300s, several Italian city-states had established trade relationships throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The Genoese had a successful colony at the city of Kaffa on the Crimean Peninsula, which they held with the permission of the Mongol rulers of the region. In 1344, disagreements between the Genoese and the Mongols led to conflict.
Note how much of Europe was linked via trade routes. Compare the map below showing the spread of plague to the routes shown here to see how the plague spread north from the Mediterranean ports. Image credit: Wikimedia commons.
In 1346, the plague reached the Mongol soldiers who were besieging the city of Kaffa. Stories from the period tell us that the plague devastated the Mongol army, forcing it to give up the siege. Some of these stories also include a more gruesome detail: the Mongols catapulted the dead bodies of the soldiers who died of the plague into the city.
Whether the Mongols intended to spread the disease, and whether the story is even true, is not clear. What is clear is that some residents of Kaffa were infected with plague.
The plague continued to travel through Asia, eventually hitting major cities such as Baghdad and Constantinople. From there, it traveled to Alexandria in Egypt, Damascus in Syria, and down the Red Sea to Mecca. From there it almost certainly entered the Indian Ocean trade networks. The plague also traveled with Genoese merchants back to Italy, first to the port of Messina in 1347, and then north through Europe over the next several years.
The first cases of plague in Europe were spread by Genoese traders returning from Kaffa. Note that the earliest areas of plague were around Constantinople and in the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, and also the port of Marseille. All of these would have been stops for Genoese ships on their way from Crimea to Genoa. (Genoa is on the coast roughly between Marseille and Milan.) Image credit: Wikimedia.
Taking both maps together, does the spread of the plague through Europe seem to have any relationship with important trade routes?
Cruel windfall: How wars, plagues, and urban disease propelled Europe’s rise to riches
Hans-Joachim Voth, Nico Voigtländer 29 July 2009
PANDEMICS, PLACES, AND POPULATIONS:EVIDENCE FROM THE BLACK DEATH
Mark Koyama, Remi Jedwab and Noel Johnson
Discussion Paper DP13523
Published 12 February 2019
Submitted 11 February 2019
Centre for Economic Policy Research
33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX, UK
www.cepr.org
Abstract
The Black Death killed 40% of Europe’s population between 1347-1352, making it one of the largest shocks in history. Despite its importance, little is known about its spatial effects and the effects of pandemics more generally. Using a novel dataset that provides information on spatial variation in Plague mortality at the city level, as well as various identification strategies, we explore the short-run and long-run impacts of the Black Death on city growth. On average, cities recovered their pre-Plague populations within two centuries. In addition, aggregate convergence masked heterogeneity in urban recovery. We show that both of these facts are consistent with a Malthusian model in which population returns to high-mortality locations endowed with more rural and urban fixed factors of production. Land suitability and natural and historical trade networks played a vital role in urban recovery. Our study highlights the role played by pandemics in determining both the sizes and placements of populations.
Discussion Paper DP13523
Published 12 February 2019
Submitted 11 February 2019
Centre for Economic Policy Research
33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX, UK
www.cepr.org
Abstract
The Black Death killed 40% of Europe’s population between 1347-1352, making it one of the largest shocks in history. Despite its importance, little is known about its spatial effects and the effects of pandemics more generally. Using a novel dataset that provides information on spatial variation in Plague mortality at the city level, as well as various identification strategies, we explore the short-run and long-run impacts of the Black Death on city growth. On average, cities recovered their pre-Plague populations within two centuries. In addition, aggregate convergence masked heterogeneity in urban recovery. We show that both of these facts are consistent with a Malthusian model in which population returns to high-mortality locations endowed with more rural and urban fixed factors of production. Land suitability and natural and historical trade networks played a vital role in urban recovery. Our study highlights the role played by pandemics in determining both the sizes and placements of populations.
Pandemics, places, and populations: Evidence from the Black Death
Rémi Jedwab, Noel Johnson, Mark Koyama 08 May 2019
The American Road to Capitalism
Studies in Class-Structure, Economic Development
and Political Conflict, 1620–1877
By
Charles Post
With a Foreword
by
Ellen Meiksins Wood
Historical Materialism 28
Brill 2011
Charles Post
The American Road to Capitalism
https://faculty.bmcc.cuny.edu:7002/faculty/upload/American%20Road%20to%20Capitalism,%201982.pdf
Essay 1982
This essay is an attempt to examine the theoretical and historiographic debates
on the development of capitalism in the United States between 1790 and 1877.
The realization of the necessary conditions for capitalist production in the
United States took place through the articulation, expanded reproduction and
transformation of three forms of production, and through a process of political
class struggle that culminated in the Civil War. Each of these forms of
production—slavery, petty-commodity production and capitalist manufacture
—has been the subject of theoretical and historiographic controversy. These
debates will be reviewed in order to determine the place of each productive
form in the development of us capitalism. The Civil War’s place in the history
of us capitalist development has also been the subject of well-known
controversy; these discussions will be scrutinized to determine how the class
struggle that culminated in the War affected capitalist development in the
United States.
Studies in Class-Structure, Economic Development
and Political Conflict, 1620–1877
By
Charles Post
With a Foreword
by
Ellen Meiksins Wood
Historical Materialism 28
Brill 2011
Charles Post
The American Road to Capitalism
https://faculty.bmcc.cuny.edu:7002/faculty/upload/American%20Road%20to%20Capitalism,%201982.pdf
Essay 1982
This essay is an attempt to examine the theoretical and historiographic debates
on the development of capitalism in the United States between 1790 and 1877.
The realization of the necessary conditions for capitalist production in the
United States took place through the articulation, expanded reproduction and
transformation of three forms of production, and through a process of political
class struggle that culminated in the Civil War. Each of these forms of
production—slavery, petty-commodity production and capitalist manufacture
—has been the subject of theoretical and historiographic controversy. These
debates will be reviewed in order to determine the place of each productive
form in the development of us capitalism. The Civil War’s place in the history
of us capitalist development has also been the subject of well-known
controversy; these discussions will be scrutinized to determine how the class
struggle that culminated in the War affected capitalist development in the
United States.
The spirit of capitalism and long-run growth (English)
Heng-fu ZouABSTRACT
Why do different countries have different long-term savings and growth rates? Why is the productivity rate not the same around the world? Recent new theories of endogenous growth have tried to answer these questions by replacing the usual assumption of diminishing returns in production. The author offers an alternative: he introduces "the spirit of capitalism" into the model. In the long run, countries with different degrees of capitalist spirit will have different consumption, capital stock, and endogenous growth rates. In his model, inflation is no longer superneutral in relation to long-run growth. The author provides a formal model that is supported by many empirical and historical studies on cultural attributes and economic development. His model helps explain: (a) why Japan and four East Asian countries, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have succeeded; (b) why nations that had an established Protestant religion in 1870 had a per capita income in 1979 that was more than a third higher than in Catholic nations; and (c) why British industry has declined since 1850.
An Introduction to the History of Capitalism 600-1900 AD
by Benedikt Koehler, David Abulafia, Victoria Bateman, Huw Bowen, Nicholas Crafts
with an introduction by Hywel Williams
THE CULTURE OF PROSPERITY | APRIL 2015
ABOUT THE LEGATUM INSTITUTE
The Legatum Institute is an international think-tank and educational
charity focussed on promoting prosperity. We do this by researching
our core themes of revitalising capitalism and democracy. The Legatum
Prosperity IndexTM, our signature publication, ranks 142 countries in terms
of wealth and wellbeing.
Through research programmes including The Culture of Prosperity,
Transitions Forum, and the Economics of Prosperity, the Institute seeks
to understand what drives and restrains national success and individual
flourishing. The Institute co-publishes with Foreign Policy magazine,
the Democracy Lab, whose on-the-ground journalists report on political
transitions around the world.
The Legatum Institute is based in London and an independent member of
the Legatum Group, a private investment group with a 27 year heritage
of global investment in businesses and programmes that promote
sustainable human development.
Culture of Prosperity
The values that motivate individuals, societies and nations are reflected and
encapsulated in the cultural achievements that endure. These are the means
by which successive generations have achieved greater self-knowledge and
the study of their significance, both in the past and the present, animates
‘The Culture of Prosperity’.
History of Capitalism
In the wake of the banking collapse of 2008 capitalism has had to
surmount a profound economic crisis while also confronting severe attacks
on its code of ethics. This three-year course will investigate the origins
and development of a movement of thought and endeavour which has
transformed the human condition.
CONTENTS
Introduction 2
by Hywel Williams
Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism 4
by Benedikt Koehler
A Global Transition: From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic 12
by David Abulafia
A The Changing Axis of Economic Power in the Early Modern Period 22
by Victoria Bateman
Making Money, Making Empires: The Case of the East India Company 32
by Huw Bowen
Industrialisation: Why Britain Got There First 38
by Nicholas Crafts
About the Authors
by Benedikt Koehler, David Abulafia, Victoria Bateman, Huw Bowen, Nicholas Crafts
with an introduction by Hywel Williams
THE CULTURE OF PROSPERITY | APRIL 2015
ABOUT THE LEGATUM INSTITUTE
The Legatum Institute is an international think-tank and educational
charity focussed on promoting prosperity. We do this by researching
our core themes of revitalising capitalism and democracy. The Legatum
Prosperity IndexTM, our signature publication, ranks 142 countries in terms
of wealth and wellbeing.
Through research programmes including The Culture of Prosperity,
Transitions Forum, and the Economics of Prosperity, the Institute seeks
to understand what drives and restrains national success and individual
flourishing. The Institute co-publishes with Foreign Policy magazine,
the Democracy Lab, whose on-the-ground journalists report on political
transitions around the world.
The Legatum Institute is based in London and an independent member of
the Legatum Group, a private investment group with a 27 year heritage
of global investment in businesses and programmes that promote
sustainable human development.
Culture of Prosperity
The values that motivate individuals, societies and nations are reflected and
encapsulated in the cultural achievements that endure. These are the means
by which successive generations have achieved greater self-knowledge and
the study of their significance, both in the past and the present, animates
‘The Culture of Prosperity’.
History of Capitalism
In the wake of the banking collapse of 2008 capitalism has had to
surmount a profound economic crisis while also confronting severe attacks
on its code of ethics. This three-year course will investigate the origins
and development of a movement of thought and endeavour which has
transformed the human condition.
CONTENTS
Introduction 2
by Hywel Williams
Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism 4
by Benedikt Koehler
A Global Transition: From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic 12
by David Abulafia
A The Changing Axis of Economic Power in the Early Modern Period 22
by Victoria Bateman
Making Money, Making Empires: The Case of the East India Company 32
by Huw Bowen
Industrialisation: Why Britain Got There First 38
by Nicholas Crafts
About the Authors
A Comparative Political Economy of Industrial Capitalism
Authors
(view affiliations)
R. C. Mascarenhas
Book
Buy eBook
USD 59.99
Table of contents (11 chapters)
About this book
Introduction
This comparative study of industrial capitalism is an examination of state-economy relations in mixed economies ranging from the interventionist German and Japanese to the less interventionist Anglo-American. Following the postwar consensus that resulted in the 'golden age' (1950-1973) and ended with the energy crisis, the Anglo-American economies adopted neoliberalism while Germany and Japan remained interventionist. This resulted in the emergence of national types of capitalism. While analyzing the increased competition between them, R.C.Mascarenhas also notes the influence of globalization as well as 'alternative capitalism' with the survival and re-emergence of industrial districts.
Keywords
competitioneconomyGermanyglobalizationInstitutioninterventionneoliberalismpolitical economy
Authors and affiliations
R. C. Mascarenhas
Department of Political Science
competitioneconomyGermanyglobalizationInstitutioninterventionneoliberalismpolitical economy
Authors and affiliations
R. C. Mascarenhas
Department of Political Science
University of Melbourne Australia
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1057/9780230597808
Copyright InformationPalgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2002
Publisher NamePalgrave Macmillan, London
Introduction
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 1-5
Historical, Institutional and Philosophical Foundations of Capitalism
Front Matter
Pages 7-7
Comparative Political Economy: An Institutionalist Approach
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 9-29
Developments in Modern Industrial Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 30-44
State and the Economy
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 45-63
Recent Developments and Changes in Industrial Organization
Front Matter
Pages 65-65
Changing Nature of Capitalism: Large-Scale Enterprises
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 67-95
Globalization and Its Effects on Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 96-112
Alternative Models of Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 113-132
Comparative Studies of Modern Capitalism
Front Matter
Pages 133-133
Types of Capitalism: Anglo-American
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 135-166
German Capitalism: The Social Market Model
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 167-198
Japan: The East Asian Developmental State
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 199-225
Comparative Perspective of Industrial Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 226-233
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1057/9780230597808
Copyright InformationPalgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2002
Publisher NamePalgrave Macmillan, London
Introduction
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 1-5
Historical, Institutional and Philosophical Foundations of Capitalism
Front Matter
Pages 7-7
Comparative Political Economy: An Institutionalist Approach
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 9-29
Developments in Modern Industrial Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 30-44
State and the Economy
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 45-63
Recent Developments and Changes in Industrial Organization
Front Matter
Pages 65-65
Changing Nature of Capitalism: Large-Scale Enterprises
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 67-95
Globalization and Its Effects on Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 96-112
Alternative Models of Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 113-132
Comparative Studies of Modern Capitalism
Front Matter
Pages 133-133
Types of Capitalism: Anglo-American
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 135-166
German Capitalism: The Social Market Model
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 167-198
Japan: The East Asian Developmental State
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 199-225
Comparative Perspective of Industrial Capitalism
R. C. Mascarenhas
Pages 226-233
Agrarian Political Economy and Modern World Capitalism: the
Contributions of Food Regime Analysis
Henry Bernstein
Global governance/politics, climate justice & agrarian/social justice:
linkages and challenges
An international colloquium
4‐5 February 2016
Colloquium Paper No. 55
International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
Kortenaerkade 12, 2518AX
The Hague, The Netherlands
Contributions of Food Regime Analysis
Henry Bernstein
Global governance/politics, climate justice & agrarian/social justice:
linkages and challenges
An international colloquium
4‐5 February 2016
Colloquium Paper No. 55
International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
Kortenaerkade 12, 2518AX
The Hague, The Netherlands
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