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The text and editor ✎ said in history
In Europe in the 14th century, there was an extremely serious outbreak of an infectious disease known as the Black Death.
It came from the Middle East and spread to southern Italy with merchant ships and then quickly to other countries. The Black Death caused enormous human death and social destruction.
Many cities have a mortality rate of more than 50%, more than 24 million people in Europe have lost their lives, and life expectancy has been drastically reduced.
The disaster brought great difficulties to the European economy, with farmland left uncultivated and urban economies paralyzed.
However, the disaster also brought a series of changes, including religious, political, economic, and medical and health changes. People began to think about the meaning of suffering, serfs were emancipated, and health care reform began.
In addition, a new humanistic spiritual awakening has led to a deeper understanding of the relationship between self, society and nature.
This realization contributed to the rise of the Renaissance movement. In short, the Black Death had a huge and comprehensive impact on Europe, becoming an important event in the Dark Ages of the Middle Ages.
The impact of the Black Death on religious beliefs in Europe
In Europe in the 14th century, the Black Death caused the loss of life to large numbers of people, and people began to question their religious beliefs and way of life.
This is because the pandemic has made people have a profound experience of death, doubts about the teachings of Christianity and the love of God.
Medieval people, who had been convinced that the power of God could protect them from disaster, were now faced with mass death and began to think about the position and way of life of individuals in society.
This thinking led to a movement of emancipation of the mind, and people began to question the medieval theocratic belief system, as well as the rights and freedoms of the individual.
The outbreak of the Black Death became an important factor in this ideological emancipation movement, promoting social change.
The harsh reality of the Black Death had a great impact on people's psyche. Many people face the death of their loved ones, and they feel hopeless, fearful and helpless.
In such an environment, people's moral concepts have been greatly tested and impacted. Parents abandon their children, husbands abandon their wives, relatives leave, and loved ones disappear before their eyes.
This cruel reality makes some people cold, selfish, and paranoid. The moral norms of society began to disintegrate, and people's mutual aid and compassion were seriously affected.
In this context, people through religious beliefs began to reflect on the role of God and the church.
They began to question the existence of God and the love and kindness taught in religion.
Seeing the ruthlessness and hypocrisy of the clergy, people began to doubt the moral codes and principles that religion preached.
The scourge of the Black Death made people reflect from the heart and think about the meaning and value of life. In such a close distance to death, people have a new pursuit of the rights and happiness of their own lives.
They began to cherish life and emphasize the rights and freedoms of the individual. As a result, the pursuit of realistic pleasure became a new belief, and people began to celebrate life and emphasize human rights.
The formation of this concept laid the ideological foundation for the later Renaissance movement.
All in all, the harsh reality of the Black Death challenged and undermined people's moral values.
People began to doubt the hypocrisy and falsehood in the religious system, and inner reflection and the pursuit of happiness in reality became a new dynamic. This had an important impact on the rise of the later Renaissance movement.
Much of human history has been spent in the unwitting struggle to satisfy the needs of authority. person
They blindly look for the location of authority, thinking that authority can give them direction and control.
However, this struggle is blind, because people do not know what they are really seeking, and all they get is the accidental result of social circumstances and historical conditions.
In the course of human development, people used fantasy and hope to create an omnipotent god, placing themselves under the rule and control of God.
However, when the Black Death swept through Europe, it was discovered that the gods worshipped were powerless and hopeless, and that the system of authority was fragile. The theocratic authority of the Middle Ages faced formidable challenges.
In this context, people began to doubt and dislike inequalities in religious beliefs and social systems.
They began to question the system of injustice and inequality in society as a whole. Various forms of mass revolt broke out in Britain, France, Germany and other countries.
In this struggle of resistance, people's thoughts and emotions changed from skepticism of religious beliefs to hatred and resistance to the system of social inequality.
In the process, the human rights of equality and freedom have emerged vaguely on the agenda of social development.
Bourgeois democracy began to emerge on the European continent. People began to seek equality, freedom, and human rights, challenging old authoritarian systems.
This revolt became a movement that profoundly influenced European society, paving the way for the later Renaissance and the rise of Enlightenment ideas.
Through this struggle and resistance, people began to realize their own worth and rights, and began to pursue true freedom and equality.
This had a positive and far-reaching impact on the transformation of European society and laid the foundation for later cultural and social progress.
The impact of the Black Death on European politics
The economic crisis caused by the Black Death contributed to the riots of the urban and rural underclasses in the second half of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century.
This period was marked by riots on an unprecedented scale. In particular, the Great English Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was directly related to the Black Death.
As a result of the severe labor shortage caused by the Black Death, farmers were given more options and were likely to make more demands, such as higher wages and lower land rents.
At the same time, the noble lords were stubborn and unwilling to compromise, and even tried to reverse the flow of wealth through their political power. This antagonism creates a conflict.
For example, in the English royal decree of June 18, 1349, it was required that capable people must work and maintain the wage level for 1346.
This decree was re-emphasized in 1351 with many new details. In 1381, the English aristocracy proposed a plan to tax on a capitate average, which was tantamount to making things worse for the already troubled peasants.
This led to an escalation of class tensions, culminating in the famous Great Peasant Uprising.
Although the uprising ultimately failed, the aristocracy was forced to make a series of concessions. Farmers' wages have been raised and land rents have fallen dramatically.
This uprising shook the serfdom of the dark period of the Middle Ages and played an important role in promoting Europe's gradual modernity.
The economic crisis caused by the Black Death sharpened the contradictions between social classes, prompting the awakening and resistance of the lower classes.
Although the results of these riots may not have been ideal at first, they laid the foundation for later social change, promoting social change and the formation of a more egalitarian social order. These turbulent events became an important turning point in European social history.
The social unrest and political changes caused by the Black Death reduced the status of aristocratic landlords and raised the status of the bourgeoisie. The shortage of labor caused wages to rise for wage laborers, leading to a decrease in the income of aristocratic landowners.
At the same time, land rents have also been significantly reduced. Merchants and financiers in cities were able to recover more quickly from economic disasters and accumulate wealth.
They are growing rapidly with the growth of the city and market opportunities. The old aristocratic landlords were in financial trouble, could no longer monopolize the highest positions in government, and their political status declined.
On the contrary, many large businessmen and financiers began to enter various departments of the state, occupy important positions, and become the main decision-makers of the government. These merchants and financiers represent new productive forces.
The Black Death indirectly provided an opportunity for the rise of the economic, political and social status of the bourgeoisie and laid the foundation for the rise of bourgeois revolution.
The impact of the Black Death on the European economy
The rise of a new urban civilization in the late Middle Ages ushered in a whole new era for Europe. The rise of cities during this period laid the foundation for the later Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the Bourgeois Revolution.
Urban civilization is the birthplace of modern spirit and the objective environment for the progress and development of human society. Urban development represents a revolutionary turning point in Western history, giving Western history a unique personality.
The spread of the Black Death accelerated the process of urban civilization, and although the city suffered a huge impact in the early days, the crisis of this period also provided an opportunity for the development of urban civilization.
Important components of the city's economic structure, such as capital, business talents, and workers' technical knowledge, remained relatively intact during disasters.
Survivors re-recognized the value of life and began to chase luxury life, resulting in a shortage of urban handicrafts and luxury goods and a sharp increase in prices. Agricultural prices have fallen, and agriculture has suffered.
Labor shortages and expensive costs led farmers to turn to sheep farming, which in turn drove the woolen industry.
The rapid development of the urban economy made the city a pioneer in European society from the Middle Ages to modern society. Urban regeneration brought prosperity and innovation, laying the foundation for later social change and progress.
Therefore, the rise of a new type of urban civilization in the late Middle Ages has an important position and significance in European history.
It not only provided the basis for later major changes, but also gave European society a unique social, economic and cultural character.
The rise of cities had a profound impact on the course of European history, allowing human society to transform from tradition to modernity.
The struggle between human rights and theocracy liberated the mind and humanity, peasant uprisings shook the old aristocratic rule of the Middle Ages, and the rise of urban civilization provided the material basis for the development of capitalism.
Although the Black Death brought great disasters to mankind, it also indirectly provided opportunities and impetus for the development of the Renaissance and capitalism.
This impact is comparable to almost no other historical event, except for the World Wars. The Reformation, the Renaissance and the Discoveries became the three driving forces that drove Europe towards modern society.
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