The Black Death Essay Research Paper virulence — страница 2

they took it upon themselves to create them. Through all the havoc, some found ways to vent their frustration while others took advantage of the situation. For instance, many apothecaries made money by selling poison to diseased victims (Chamberlain 133). They weren t doing this to help the people; they only wanted to make a profit. The well being of these other people wasn t their concern, only their own. Equally important is the fact that Jews were blamed of spreading the disease by poisoning wells (Karlen 135). Much of this came from the fact that many Europeans were Christians and had already begrudged and persecuted the Jews because they believed they caused the death of Christ. They were used as scapegoats and were wrongfully killed because of people s prejudice ideas and

lack of tolerance for other religions. The Black Death killed many. It was like a dark cloud settled over the lives of Europe: it was impossible to hide or escape it. Cries of pain, prayers to god: nothing could stop it. It could have been destiny for The Black Plague to happen, it could have just been a natural occurrence, but there is no doubt in the fact that no matter why it happened, it was a awful calamity that brought doom and suffering. The plague still exists today, but most cases are small and controlled. Gottfried, Robert S. The Black Death. New York: The Free Press, 1983 Gottlieb, Beatrice. The Family in the Western World: From the Black Death to the Industrial Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Karlen, Arno. Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History

and Modern Times. New York: G.P. Putman s sons, 1995. Nikiforuk, Andrew. The Fourth Horseman: A Short History of Epidemics, Plagues, Famines, and other Scourges. Toronto: Penguin Books Ltd., 1991. Plague. Microsoft Encarta. CD-ROM. 1997, ed. Roden, Katie. Plague. Brookfield: Copper Breech Books, 1996. Wark, Lori Anne. The Black Death. Discovery Communications, Inc. 1998. Online. Internet. 28 April 1999. Available http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/blackdeath/blackdeath.html.