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Black Death

Caffa and Venice

Last Name

First Name

Assignment 2

WHO 2001
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Black Death

A terrible plague hit some part of eastern countries during the year 1346. The plague

was too catastrophic that dozens of thousands of people lost their life. This plague came to be

known as Black death. Not only did the plague hit some of the eastern countries but also

spread to some countries in the west. Historical evidence concerning the spread of the deadly

illness varies. Some historians claim that the virus spread to Europe through Crimea during

the biological war fare in regions such as Caffa and Tana. It is also important to note that

information provided on the emergence and spread of the illness has sparked immense

controversies since different accounts of the story are given (Ell 2015, 129). The destruction

caused by the Black Death was huge. For instance, Europe alone lost an approximate of a

third or quarter of its total population. Some research done indicates that illness was caused

by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis.

Caffa was a major port and trading center that connected the interior with Russia. the

ruler of this city had the title khan. This town also traded a lot with Italian merchants who

came from a town known as Genoa. In addition to this, Caffa was linked to a town called

Sarai. The mode of transport to Sarai was mainly by caravan. Trading activities created

tension between Italian merchants and the inhabitans of Caffa. In fact, in the year 1307, the

khan at the time besieged Caffa and incarcerated Italians from Sarai. The cause of this move

was driven by the khan’s anger toward Italian traders’ salve trade. The Genoese people

relentlessly resisted and fought back. This tension between Italians and Mongolians went on

for a long time until the year 1344 when Italians massacred an estimate of 15000 inhabitants

of Caffa. This act angered the khan and thus he had to lift the siege and open negotiations

with the Italians. Generally, Italians and Mongolians relationship around the year 1344 was

tensional.
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The unstable relationship between Italians and Mongolians created anger in God who

advocates for peaceful living. According to a historian called Gabriele de Mussi, God was

angry with human being’s continuous sinful actions. “The narrative begins with an

apocalyptic speech by God, lamenting the depravity into which humanity has fallen and

describing the retribution intended” (Wheelis 2002, 5). Basically, the rage that God had was

as a result of the Italians and Mongolians warring activities. It can be speculated that the

plague that proceeded was a form of punishment subjected to the two opposing groups. This

speculation is substantial because religious affiliations were strong and profound during the

1300. People were culminated into Christianity and taught the teachings that are required of

them. The illness emerged in amongst the Italians and Mongolians in the year 1346.

The events that followed the striking of the illness caused unprecedented tension and

confusion (Wheelis 2000, 7). Italian Christians who resided in Tana fled the town after it was

the plague devoured. Many people died unexpectedly from the illness and cities and towns

started to become empty. It was worse for the Italians who were under the bondage of harsh

and cruel Tartars. The Christian merchants scampered and went to Caffa to seek refuge.

Nonetheless, they were prisoned in Caffa and controlled by the same Tartars rulers. A stern

prohibition was made to prevent them from fleeing again. The soldiers who besieged Caffa

started to contract the deadly illness and the lives of thousands of them perished.

The pandemic worsened as many got infected with the disease. The Tartars soldiers

who were mostly infected dumped hordes of dead bodies into the sea in order to suffocate the

Italian Christians with the stench. The smell that emanated from the sea was suffice that no

one had the capability of leaving the city. Thus, thousands and thousands of people were

subjected to a sudden and horrible death. Due to this devastating pandemic, people thought

that the last day of judgement. The rate at which people were dying was threatening. It

happened that if a member of a family had the bacteria, automatically all the other members
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of the family contracted and died from it as well. Moreover, standing next to an infected

person meant that death was knocking at your door. because of the unestablished proper

medical care, control and cure for the illness was hindered.

The mode of transmission of this contagious infection is unclear. Gabriele de Mussi

purports that infected people in Caffa sailed for years to Europe and contracted the disease.

Other historical accounts suggest that the illness could have been transmitted from Crimea.

Infected people sailed using many ships from Crimea (Wheelis 2002, 11). Rodents infected

with the illness like rats that were present in the ship died and attracted fleas. These fleas

carried the bacteria to countries in Europe on arrival. Furthermore, the soldiers in the ship

transmitted the virus to the people they interacted with in Europe. Another reason why the

bacteria could have entered Europe via Crimea is because several Mongolian ships usually

docked in Crimea. Therefore, Mongolians who used the sea to reach Crimea might have

contracted the illness.

The plague caused unprecedented mayhem in the year 1630 the month of October

from date 23 to 25 in Venice (Ell 2015, 133). Dozens of thousands were killed by the plague.

Historical records indicating the number of deaths that occurred at particular dates exist. The

spread of the plague was accelerated by the ongoing fight between Venice and Hapsburgs

soldiers. The plague stroke Venice during the time they were actively fighting for the

possession of Mantua. Since the soldiers were not ready to back down because of the looming

plague, they easily contracted the bacteria. The soldiers as well as inhabitants of Venice died

miserably of the illness.

Controversies have sparked concerning the accurate extent at which Europe was

afflicted with the plague. During the time of plague domination, reliable journalistic records

did not exist and thus the stories told about this plague were sourced out from witnesses while

others are speculations made by historians. For that reason, information regarding the
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pandemic in the east and west is susceptible to bias and prejudice. Despite this, one thing

stands out for sure- the plague entered Venice in the year 1630 and robbed it of thousands of

citizens (Ell 2015, 142).

Apart from the deadly illness that conspired to end the world in that epoch, other

factors could have contributed to the myriad of deaths that were recorded. For instance,

during this epoch there was an influx in the number of small pix patients. Since smallpox is

highly contagious, many people managed to get infected. Moreover, they also lost their lives

from small pox because of lack of proper medical systems. Another contributor of death

during this time was the numerous wars that left thousands of people either dead of critically

wounded. Many soldiers lost their lives during wars. It is therefore difficult to establish the

root cause of deaths in Europe during the 1630 epoch.

In conclusion, the plague that occurred in the year 1346 in some parts of the east

caused massive destruction. Many people lost their lives and the disease spread to many

regions as well (Wheelis 2002, 15) . The Italians and the Mongolians particularly were hard

hit by the plague. They had a short time to live after the infection of the bacteria. This illness

was able to spread to Europe via ships. Analysis made of this plague connects it a form of

punishment subjected on human beings for their depravity. It can also be inferred that people

started to protest religion because they felt there was no supreme being vouching for them. all

in all, the plague caused immense destruction.

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References

Wheelis, Mark. Biological Warfare at the 1336 Siege of Caffa. Center of Disease Control and

Intervention. September, 2002.

Ell, Stephen. Three Days in October of 1630: Detailed Examination of Mortality During an

Early Modern Plague Epidemic in Venice. Oxford Journals. 2015.