THE BLACK DEATH

Hello friends!

Today I am going to talk about DEATH.
Specifically of the black coloring. Hahaha.

So I use to be a history major, and I use to TA for a world history class (Hist 202, any of you had to suffer through it? I did that to you!)

SO...in all of my history classes we always discuss how the black death was a major turning point for Europe. Prior to the black death, Europe was not important, a pawn on the chess set of world events if you will. (I know! Let's all take one Eurocentric gasp of shock! GASP!) China, India, and the Middle East were vastly more valuable, powerful, and politically cohesive than Europe was.

HOWEVER, the black death kind of evened the world playing field and let Europe come out on top. The Chinese (where the Black Plague probably started) suffered GREATLY from the plague. The Huns, then probably the most powerful people on the earth, also suffered greatly, causing them to lose all of their lands and territories.
With a more even playing field Europe was able to rise out of the ashes left by the black plague and come out ON TOP.

SO, to expand my knowledge I decided to look up a few books that support this theory. Here are some of the books I found!

In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made, by Norman F. Cantor
(This is more of a narrative, for the casual historian)

The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance Europe by Samuel K. Cohn Jr.
(A dense read, for the more avid fans out there)

The Black Death and the Transformation of the West by David Herlihy and Samuel K. Cohn Jr.
(One of the best, and most balanced, sources)

The Black Death: A Turning Point In History? by William M. Browsky
(Available at the HBLL!)

The Great Mortality : An Intimate History Of The Black Death, The Most Devastating Plague Of All Time by John Kelly

Really, sources outside of textbooks can make things a lot more interesting when it comes to history. And the black plague is definitely one of the more interesting historical events to read about.

(P.S. Anyone ever heard about the influenza of 1918? I did a project on it once, really interesting...)