Download Bubonic Plague PowerPoint

Sometimes a disease changes everything.
In Western Europe, it all
started with fleas on rats.
Life was already hard in Western Europe
during the 1300s. Food prices had risen
and hunger and starvation increased.
And then, a
terrible
disease entered
Western Europe
along trade
routes from
Asia. In a few
years, this
disease
led to the deaths
of one-third of
Western
Europe’s
population.
Merchants and travelers spread the disease.
How did the Bubonic Plague enter
Western Europe?
Infected fleas on rats bit people
and these infected people spread
the disease through coughing and
breathing.
How were people infected with Bubonic
Plague?
The disease’s formal name was
Bubonic Plague but people called it the
Black Death.
In 1348, Bubonic Plague entered
Western Europe. Buboes or swellings
and black spots formed on victims.
Infected people
usually
died within
a
few days.
The Black Death entered Western
Europe in 1347 and in a few short
years, destroyed one-third of the
Population.
There were
fewer people
left to work
and pay taxes.
As the population
decreased, other
changes occurred.
A decrease in population led
to decreases in food prices and
increases in wages. Can you figure
out why?
Do you know why the relationship
between supply and demand is
important?
Supply and demand determine
price.
Fewer people meant fewer people
left to work, buy food, and pay taxes.
So, food prices dropped and wages
rose.
As the population declined, serfs
were given greater rights and
eventually serfdom ended in
Western Europe. The feudal system began
fall apart.
The plague changed everything.
It was one of the factors that led
to the decline of the Middle Ages
and a new era in Western Europe.
After all this death, people wanted
life again.
The Big Seven:
1. What was the Bubonic Plague?
2. Why was it called the Black Death?
3. Where did the disease originate?
4. How did the disease enter Europe?
5. What percentage of the population died?
6. How did the disease affect food prices?
7. How did the disease affect wages?