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1351-53: The Black Plague begins fading, causing a catastrophic amount of deaths in Europe. 

The painting above by Pieter Bruegel the Elder shows the devastation the Black Plague caused, leaving half of Europe’s population dead. 

In 1351, the Black Plague began to fade, likely due to extreme quarantines. The death count was at a staggering 25 to 50 million people, also including the hundreds of communities of Jews who were massacred. In the end, Europe lost about 50% of its population. Due to the significant amount of loss that countries faced, work wages increased as well as the standard of living. In simpler terms, economies spiraled. The aftermath of the plague would affect all aspects of life, such as abandoning loved ones, trade declined, and not many funerals were held. Art would also become more focused on the afterlife and mortality. For the religious aspect, Christianity increased as well as the hate for Jews. 

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1348: Extreme Anti-Semitism Spreads

The attached image features the painting demonstrating a law that restricted the freedom of Jews, where they were forced to wear clothing that identified someone as a Jew.

During the wrath of the Black Plague, a medieval holocaust sparked. Jews were ruthlessly blamed for the plague, accused of pouring deadly powders into main water supplies. This began in Provence, where the first massacre took place, leaving 40 Jews murdered. Due to the rumors of poison, the civic authorities in Germany tortured countless rumors in hopes of a confession. (Winkler, A.) The rumors circulated throughout Europe, causing tremendous damage to many Jewish community's economies, and more tragically, many innocent Jews were killed. Because of the horrors the Jews faced, they were pushed out of their homes and many attempted to flee to other countries, and those who fled to Avignon were protected by the pope. In Switzerland, many Jews were tortured and forced to “admit” to poisoning the water and were framed. Poison was later found in the wells. During this time period, a number of antisemitic laws were put in place. For example, Jews were forbidden from owning land, and they were forced to wear clothing that identified them as a Jew. Even in 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council ordered Jews to wear a badge so they’d be distinguishable. The Black Plague was the catalyst for the medieval holocaust, but the hatred began far before it. When Christianity began its rise in Europe, so did antisemitism. This is thought to be due to the slight distance in beliefs, but mainly the argument of Jesus’ crucifixion. Back then, it was said that the crucifixion was carried out by the Jews and that they were to blame.  Due to these arguments, the conflict between the two religions built up, and as stated previously, the plague was what would inevitably cause the first holocaust.

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1347: The Black Plague begins in Europe.

The attached image shows a painting of the port of Messina, Sicily, where the Plague Plague first entered Europe.

The plague would finally reach France in October of 1347 from Genoese ships that docked in Messina, Sicily. The ships that docked housed rats carrying the bubonic plague, and the majority of all the ships’ crews were dead from the plague. The surviving crew members might as well have been too, as they were covered in dark boils that oozed blood and pus. When Sicilian authorities discovered them, the ships were ordered to leave, but the damage was already done. The rats and flees would eventually spread the disease to humans, causing a massive outbreak that spread fast. Those who heard of the disease attempted to flee, unknowingly also spreading the Black Plague further inland and beyond. Since the plague originated in Central Asia, the Mongols who often laid siege upon Caffa also carried the plague with them, causing even further spread. This would also lead to them weaponizing the bubonic plague, as they’d throw the dead bodies of those who passed from the plague over walls that were built to keep them out.

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1331–34: 1331-34: Plague outbreak in Southwestern China spreads through Asia to the Mediterranean. 

The attached image features a painting of the Silk Road.

According to the account of John Kelly in The Great Mortality, The Black Plague originated in Mongolia. At this point, it was named the strain of Y. Pestis. Yersinia pestis is known as a coccobacillus bacterium that was also responsible for Scarlet Fever. This bacterium was presumed to be spread from marmots to humans. It was discovered that the earliest point of the Black Plague was documented along the Silk Road, which was a major route of trade that connected China and the Far East to Europe. This would mean that almost all goods and merchants traveling from those places likely went through this route at one point or another. This would inevitably allow the plague to easily spread throughout the countries along the route.