HIST 1001 Chapter : Famine
Document Summary
People believed the end of the world was coming. Medieval art and books come obsessed with death. Agriculture economy had done very well until this time. Heavy rain washes away a lot of soil and seeds. As the harvest shrinks there is not enough food to sustain the population. Some reasons because of this famine suffered population loss, up to 10% of the population died due to starvation. Hungry homeless people became part of the population. Malnutrition becomes a problem, vitamin and protein deficiencies. The very old and very young were the most at risk and vulnerable to diseases such as tuberculosis. The number of elderly people and infant mortality became high and increased. In the 6th and 7th century the black plague had killed people. In 1347 bubonic plague breaks out and kills about 1/3 of the population of europe. The bubonic plague is carried by fleas which attach to rats.
