Subject:
Prelude to disaster Poor harvests led to famines in the years 1315-1322. Fewer calories meant increased susceptibility to disease and less energy for growing food. Diseases killed many people and animals. Economies slowed down and population growth came to a halt. Weak governments were unable to deal with these problems. Starving people turned against rich people and Jews. English kings tried to regulate the food supply, but failed. The Black Death Genoese ships brought the bubonic plague--the Black Death--to Europe in 1347. The bacillus lived in fleas that infested black rats. Some claim that it came from the east by way of the Crimea. Pathology and care The bubonic form of the disease was transmitted by rats; the pneumonic form was transmitted by people.
