What Were The Economic, Social, And Psychological Effects Of Chronic Attacks Of Plague And Famine In The Fourteen Century?

THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CHRONIC ATTACKS OF PLAGUE AND FAMINE IN THE FOURTEEN CENTURY
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THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CHRONIC ATTACKS OF PLAGUE AND FAMINE IN THE FOURTEEN CENTURY
Introduction
The fourteenth century booked an indelible mark in history because of the disease plague and famine that affected the people. The fatal disease claimed many lives almost a third of the population and affected the economic, political and cultural development of the existing civilizations (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). The disease was mainly brought about by poor sanitation, crude epidemic management procedures and strategies, lack of awareness, high poverty levels, and poor public health management strategies. The disease was poorly managed, and some were highly contagious thus they spread very fast. Because of bad management procedures, the people found themselves ravaged by these diseases that decimated their population. Existing public health knowledge and understanding of bacterial and viral infections was poor, and little literature existed. The great famine added to the woes of the Europeans which further affected the people and their ability to fight the disease. Europe was heavily affected, and this article seeks to provide further details depicting the economic, social and psychological factors of the famine and the plague (Black Death).
Economic Effects
Diseases have a significant economic impact. In the fourteenth century, the economy was heavily dependent on manual labour and subsistence agriculture. Agriculture was poorly mechanized, and it was dependent on human labor. This is partly why the people were unable to recover from the famine fast. It was mainly subsistent though some of the produce was traded for other goods and services. When the plague struck, they affected the human productivity levels in their various economic capacity. The disease and famine affected skilled labor and the strong, youthful adults who were most productive in the industries. Economic products and services were also of poor quality as fewer healthy people were strong enough to work. Other sectors of the economy were also adversely affected. Transport, trade and other economic activities also were hit by the lack of reliable market patterns and sufficient labor to run their operations.
These plague and famine also affected the market for goods produced by the existing industries. The people are the market of economic goods and services. When a disease epidemic and unsustainable agricultural produce ravage the population, the market for various goods and services is negatively affected. The century recorded over 35 million people deaths which accounted to slightly over a third of the world population (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). Thus, the market for goods and services was reduced by a third and the population growth stalled. Most diseases also affected the children which led to an unsustainable demographic pattern. The population pyramid became inverted. The market for goods consumed by the young generations was severely affected.
Resources were also channeled to the establishment of cure of plague that affected the people. The existing modes of government albeit most being autocratic, channeled substantial resources to the science community to try to establish means to contain the disease. The resources were primarily channeled for research and cure. There was scarce information on the disease, and thus the science community just continued to drain resources without any significant progress on the issues that affected the people. However, cure and preventive mechanisms were later discovered though it was not after millions of lives were lost. Additionally, resources and funds channeled to the establishment of the cure were substantial and were lengthy. Furthermore, dispensing the cure to the millions of people affected or likely to be affected cost the government more resources. All the resources used by the government for treatment of these diseases could have been channeled in developing the industries and improve the standards of living of its people.
The plague and famine also affected the foreign trade which was important for the survival and growth of the ancient civilizations. The disease affected trade in a couple of ways, first, fewer people were strong enough to venture beyond their borders to trade because of the ravaging effects of the plagues. Secondly, the disease control measures adopted in that era was mainly quarantine. Thirdly, the famine hit agri...