West European Studies

Introduction
The Black Death is an important pandemic that hit the United Kingdom in the middle ages. The pandemic entered the United Kingdom in the years 1348 and is estimated to have killed over half of the British population. The Black Death originated from Asia and spread to the European countries including the United Kingdom. It was first reported in the mid 1348 at the Port of Weymouth. By the end of 1348, the disease had reached London and within a very short time, it had spread all over the United Kingdom.

The Black Death had several implications on the United Kingdom as an international prosperous country. However, the outbreak affected several countries in the world claiming millions of lives. Although many lives were lost in the United Kingdom, the British government was able to handle the situation well. The pandemic had various social, political and economic implication in the affected countries, the United Kingdom included. Decreased population as a result of the outbreak decreased the workforce in the country which led to an increase in wages. This development was opposed by the land owners who used punitive and legislative measures at the expense of the lower class. As a result, the lower class started rebellions against the landowners. The Black Death also impacted on the cultural and artistic aspects of the British society. However, the most striking aspect of the Black Death is its recurrence in the United Kingdom in the early 1360s, in the 14th, 15th and 17th century.
Black Death in the United Kingdom

The plague commonly known as the Bubonic plague was caused by a bacillus bacteria that was carried by fleas in rats. The fleas had rats and other rodents as their hosts and moved freely from their hosts to the human population spreading the bacteria. The fleas spread the disease by regurgitating blood from the host, to the human beings. The rat however died immediately from the infection. The human also died within a short time after infections. The infection did not spare the flea which also died as a result of blocked stomach. In other world, the grim infection killed every one, human beings, the vector and the rodent.

The symptoms of the infection included swollen lymph nodes in the neck, groin and armpits, fever, vomiting blood and aching limbs. The swelling of the glands in the neck was very pronounced and could easily be noticed. The swelling made the skin turn blackish which gave the plague the name, Black Death. The swelling of the glands continued eventually bursting and leading to death soon after. The infection caused death within four days since the first symptom was observed. The plague was terrifying because of the swiftness of the spread of the infection, the pain the infected people suffered and the grotesque look on the plagues victims. Vomiting of blood was as a result of the disease reaching the lungs thus causing the pneumonic plague. This form of infection is very contagious since it could easily spread through breathing or coughing. The infection caused death in days when the bloodstream was infected causing the septicemic plague. The septicemic plague is reported to have been the most dangerous with a 100 mortality rate though it was less common. This plague was characterized by high fevers and dark spots on the skin.  

In the 1340s, the population of the United Kingdom is estimated by historians to have been between three million and seven million people. However, recent studies indicate that six million is a more precise figure. Although there were catastrophic famines such as the great famine that hit Europe between 1315 and 1317, there is no evidence of reduction in population as a result. Less that ten percent of the people in the United Kingdom lived in the cities with the better part of the population living in the countryside where they practiced agriculture. During that period, the United Kingdom was an economic and political superpower in the European continent. It was the main producer of wool in the region and had won many decisive wars. This was as a result of excellent leadership by King Edward III who was both young and energetic.

It is believed that the plague arrived in the United Kingdom from Asia by ship in the mid 1348. It was first reported at the port at modern day Weymouth but it is also believed to have been reported at Southampton and Bristol. The plague spread rapidly to other parts of the country. Bristol was the first urban center to be attacked while London which had about seven hundred thousand inhabitants was reached before the end of 1348. The plague arrived in London by road and by ship. In early 1349, London faced the full wrath of the plague due to the high population, congestion, poor sanitation, overcrowding and poor health standards. The disease had spread all over the southern parts of the United Kingdom by the end of the first quarter of 1349. The disease was also spreading fast northwards but the arrival of the plague at Humber in the first half of the 1349 made the plague explosive. The plague started spreading fast northwards and southwards. The northern part of the country was hard hit by the plague because they had been made more vulnerable by attacks and constant invasions by the Scots. The disease took less than five hundred days to spread to all parts of the United Kingdom. Usually, diseases transmitted in this manner are less virulent in winter and the disease seems to spread less rapidly. In many cases, the disease is unable to survive the winter. However, the Black Death survived the winter in 1348 and 1349 but it was unable to survive the next winter. By the end of 1349, the spread of the disease had reduced significantly and the conditions were back to normal.

Casualties
Although historical records in the United Kingdom are much better compared to other countries in Europe and around the world, it is still difficult to establish with certainty the total number of victims who perished in the plague. Historians have disagreed on the population of the United Kingdom at the time as well as the victims of the plague. Some inflated statistics indicated that almost ninety percent of the population perished in the plague which has been disputed by the historians. Many of the modern historians however agree that total number of casualties in the plague could have been up to sixty percent of the total population in the United Kingdom. A recent study indicated that the death toll reached over sixty percent where the total population of the United Kingdom is estimated to have been about six million people with about 3.75 million people perishing in the plague. This figure may be higher than the estimated figure of sixty percent of the total population of European population perishing in the plague.

It was assumed that the plague affected all people across the social divide, but the position has been disputed by recent studies. The death rate was not uniform across all social classes in the society. The lower class had a higher risk of infection and the mortality rate among them was higher. The social elites on the other hand were able to escape the wrath of the plague by avoiding infection. The post infection death among the elites was also less since they had access to better health care compared to the lower class. The low mortality rate was also observed among the clergy and the religious leaders where the death rate was lower than average. In general, all over the European continent, the death toll among the nobles and those in the highest social class were less affected by the Black Death. Only one member of the royal family, Joan, the daughter of Edward III who lived in France was reported to have died from the plague. However, a great philosopher in the 14th century, William of Ockham is reported to have died of the plague.

Recurrence of the Plague
The worst aspect of the Black Death plague in the European effect is the fact that it did not come once. The plague came over and over again. However, the recurring plagues were not as devastating as the first one. The recurring plagues were not very contagious and limited on one geographical zone but were as virulent as the first one. The first recurrence of the pandemic in the United Kingdom was in the 1360s. The statistics on the pandemic is however limited though it is also believed to have been relatively high claiming about twenty percent of the population. This recurrence of the plague had far reaching effects on the recovering population after the first plague in the late 1340s. The plague affected the young men and the infants who were the future of the population. This was also the case when the plague recurred not more than a decade later claiming almost fifteen percent of the population.

The plague continued to recur over the following decades at intervals of five to ten years either in the United Kingdom or other regions in Europe. The death tolls however reduced with the subsequent recurrence. However, the pandemic returned in full force in the 15th century between 1430 and 1480. Among the outbreaks during the period, two of them in the 1470s claimed over fifteen percent of the population in the United Kingdom each. Since the end of the fifteenth century, the recurrences of the Black Death became less frequent and manageable. This was as a result of the European governments and the general public consciousness and efforts that started in the late 15th century to contain the disease. The pandemic ended in the 17th century with the great plague of London in the mid 1660s. It is important to note that most of the recurrence of the Black Death took place during the reign of the Tudor and the Stuarts in the middle ages.

Consequences of the Black Death in the United Kingdom
The Black Death plague in the middle age has numerous impacts on the society of the United Kingdom. This is directly as a result of the high number of casualties. The plague had far reaching and numerous social, economic impacts on the society. It also affected the religious and cultural aspects of the society.

The immediate negative impact of the plague was economic decline. The plague killed the productive members of the society. The high number of deaths in the lower class affected the agrarian society in England. The agricultural production depended on the labor provided by the large population in the country side. High mortality rate led to a reduction of the labor force which reduces agricultural productivity. As a consequence of limited labor force, the wages skyrocketed which attracted a lot of attention among the nobles who owned land. In the 14th century, the nobles had very little knowledge on the market forces and could not be able to interpret the socioeconomic changes that resulted from the plague. They blamed the public for being immoral which attracted a lot friction between the two classes in the society. The land owners who were the social elites interpreted the rising wage rates as an indication of declining morals and an indication of insubordinate. The landowners reacted by coercing the farmers which resulted in uprisings. After the plague subsided, the king introduced punitive measures that fixed the wages that the farm workers should be paid. Later, the United Kingdom parliament reinforced the ordinance by the king when it the passed the Statute of Laborers. In the following decades, the labor laws were enforced on to the workers with ruthless determination by the nobles and the administrators.

As stated earlier, the administrators as well as the land owners were unaware of the market forces. Their move to enforce the labor laws was inefficient in regulating the market forces. Although the legislative measures such as the Statute of Laborers which was introduced in 1351 proved ineffective, the administration continued to enforce the measures which resulted into public resentment. These factors among others led to the Peasants Revolt three decades, after the labor laws were formulated in 1381. The effects of the revolt were far reaching with the Savoy Palace being burnt and the chancellor John of Gaunt being killed. The revolting farm workers demanded that the serfdom be done away with and were determined to push their agenda forward. They did not calm down until king Richard II intervened. The rebellions and uprisings ended but they had left a large impact on the society that could not be reversed. By the end of the century, the serfdom labor laws did not exist in the United Kingdom and were replaced by the copyhold. This was a form of tenure based on the traditions of the manor which introduced title deeds to the land owners as a copy of the records in the court.

The political impacts of the plague were evident all over the European countries with several governments such as the Valois of France collapsing. This was as a result of poor handling of the social and economic consequences of the plague. The British administration such as William de Shareshull who was the treasurer and William Edington who acted as the Chief Justice was able to handle the crisis and it was saved from collapse. Prior to the plague, the United Kingdom was an economic and political superpower in the region. To save the government from the chaos and eventual collapse as for the case of the French government, competence in leadership was essential. The effective leadership of the British administration maintained the stability of the government throughout the crisis.

The plague also impacted on the religious as well as the cultural aspects of the United Kingdom society. The church was adversely affected by the high mortality rate among the clergy men. Though the rate of death among the priests was lower compared to the overall rate in the country, it resulted into a decline in the number of priests. The shortage of priest called for the participation of the general public in religious affairs of the society to save the church from collapse. The fact that death was present everywhere transformed the religious and cultural aspects of the society with the church encouraging people to repent their sins. Piety was also inspired among the upper class which has been used by historians to explain the founding of the Cambridge colleges shortly after the Black Death subsided. The roving band of flagellants which was observed in other parts of Europe was not experienced in the United Kingdom. The prosecution of Jews that was observed in other European countries did take place in England. The number of Jews in the United Kingdom was significant since they had been expelled from the country in the 13th century by King Edward I who ordered all the Jews out of the United Kingdom in year 1290.

The emergency of protestant churches in England as a result of the protestant revolution is closely linked to the Black Death. It is one of the impacts of the Black Death that is felt all over the world today and the years to come. It is estimated that over forty percent of the priests in the United Kingdom died as a result of the plague. The gap created was so enormous that the church filled the gap with untrained and unqualified priests which led to a declining authority in the church. The declining influence and power in England led to the protestant reformation which led to the modern day protestant churches. The inability of the church to explain the plague and the under qualified priests were a disappointment to the plague survivors.

Other social and cultural impacts of Black Death plague was the use of vernacular English. Before the plague, most of the teachings were done in French. The plague significantly reduced the number of French speaking teachers. The adoption of vernacular language as a direct impact of the plague is believed to be the reason behind the flourishing of the English literature starting the end of the 14th century. Great authors and writers who are believed to have developed as a direct influence of the plague and its impacts include Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower.

Historical Timing
The Black Death is the most disastrous plague in the history of Europe especially due to its recurrence and appearing in one epidemic in different forms. The historical timing of the plague was as devastating as its form. It struck when the European powers were struggling economically due to the interference of the trade routes by the arrival of the Ottoman Muslims. The region was also faced with recurring famines due to increased population and decreased crop yield. The church was also hard hit by the plague all over the European continent because it was not in good shape in the fourteenth century. The church was unable to handle the heresy around Europe, the popes did not reside in Rome and it was unable to recover the Holy Land that was lost towards the end of the 13th century after the fall of the Roman Empire. The plague was presided over by a period of centuries of war which made the European countries more vulnerable. The economic and social impacts of the wars in the 13th and 14th century were aggravated by the impacts of the plague.