Impact of the Black Death

The immediate impact of the Black Death was general paralysis, trade ceased and the survivors were in a state of shock.

The Plague returned periodically, striking mostly children, until it disappeared from Europe in 1399, not to return again until the 17th century. The Black Death changed the demography of Europe substantially. Aside from the Plague deaths , there was also a decline in the birth rate. The net result was that by 1400, Europe's population was half what it had been in 1345. This is known with some accuracy from many Medieval church, census, and tax records that have survived. Europe's population took about six generations to recover .

The Black Death speeded up the changes in Medieval society that were already under way. The most immediate effect of the Black Death was a shortage of labor. Much land could no longer be cultivated. In response, the nobles refused to continnue the long common practice of gradually eliminating serfdom by allowing the serfs to buy their freedom. Over the centuries it had been realized by some that free tenants were more productive than serfs, and this had led to a gradual breakdown in the use of serfs. With the post-Plague labor shortage, many nobles tried to reverse the process in order to keep their land under cultivation and their income up. Free tenants were taking advantage of the labor shortage to demand better terms from their landlords and the nobles were reluctant to see their incomes reduced. Governments tried to fix wages, but the labor shortage was irresistable. If their feudal lords would not relent, serfs simply fled to areas where wages were higher or land rental terms lower.

The shock of the Plague caused many peasants to demand a restructuring of society, often with a religious fervor. An approximation of democracy was demanded and with it a curbing of aristocratic rights and privileges. When these hopes for a better life were curtly dismissed, or savagely repressed by the nobility, many commoners rose in rebellion. The French Jacquerie of 1358, and the English Peasant's Rebellion in 1381 were only the tip of the iceberg. Unrest was everywhere.

None of the rebellions were succsessful. But in the end the disintegration of the manor system of managing agriculture began. It was replaced by a land rent system, with the freedom of the peasants recognized. This system still exists in many parts of Europe, although the desire of peasants to own their land eventually led, centuries later, to migration to places like Russia, Australia, Arica, and the Americas. There was never enough land, and dividing it among the sons soon led to economically unviable situations.

High inflation was caused by the higher wages and the small manufacturing and commercial classes attempted to maintain their position by getting laws passed regulating who could enter their industries. This simply caused unrest in the cities, as landless peasants rioted for the opportunities now denied them.

Higher wages meant that many people had more money to spend on themselves. New industries arose to meet the demand. English manufacturers created a new, and more profitable cloth-manufacturing industry based the power of water mills, rather than cheap labor that was no longer available.

Governments also had to adapt. Land was abandoned, rents were not paid, and tax revenue declined. This had a drastic effect on the war, as the wages of mercenary soldiers increased while available tax revenue decreased by more than 50 percent. The French also suffered from the collapse of the system of free military service as a feudal obligation. There were fewer trained soldiers available and those that were still around wanted a lot more money or simply had better financial prospects doing something else.

As a result of the Plague, the French went over to a system of paid, professional, army, something the English had been doing for a long time. Coming at a time when taxes were lower than previously, this led to smaller armies.

The post-Plague world was one of vastly increased opportunity for inventive and capable individuals. While the Black Death killed off Medieval society, it gave birth to the beginnings of our own industrialized consumer society.