New
New
Year 7

The impact of the Black Death in Europe

I can explain the social and economic impact of the Black Death in Europe.

New
New
Year 7

The impact of the Black Death in Europe

I can explain the social and economic impact of the Black Death in Europe.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Black Death killed up to half the population in many European countries.
  2. The Black Death changed how people interacted with each other.
  3. Different countries responded to and were affected by the Black Death in different ways.
  4. The Black Death affected the lives of Europeans for centuries after the plague first struck.

Keywords

  • Population - the population refers to all the inhabitants of a particular place

  • Disease - a disease is a condition that impairs the proper function of the body or part of the body

Common misconception

The Black Death was a terrible one-off event.

Although the Black Death was a one-off event, the plague, the disease that was the Black Death, continued to afflict Europe for hundreds of years after it first came to Europe in the 14th century.

Discuss or show students the symptoms of the Black Death and the timeframe from infection to death in order to help them understand the fear that this disease generated amongst people at the time.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What did people at the time believe caused the Black Death
infected fleas on rats
wizards and witches
Correct answer: God punishing them for their sins
Correct answer: foul smelling air
Correct answer: an evil alignment of the planets
Q2.
Where has modern research discovered the Black Death originated from?
China
Russia
Correct answer: Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Q3.
Roughly what percentage of the population of the Middle East was killed by the Black Death?
Correct Answer: 33, 33%
Q4.
What is meant by the term 'plague'?
Correct answer: a serious contagious disease that can kill many people
something bad that happens to lots of people
an annoying person or people
a type of curse
Q5.
Which European city in modern-day Crimea was the first to experience the Black Death in 1346?
Correct answer: Caffa
Trabzon
Sinope
Constantinople
Q6.
Which famous trade route is also suspected to have brought the Black Death to Europe?
Correct Answer: The Silk Road, Silk Road

6 Questions

Q1.
Which grand building in Sienna was never completed due to the Black Death?
Correct Answer: cathedral, the cathedral
Q2.
How long was the 'quarantena' that Venice imposed on incoming ships to try and prevent the Black Death from spreading to the city?
Correct Answer: 40 days, Forty days
Q3.
How did the city of Milan deal with cases of the Black Death?
drove the sick from the city
Correct answer: bricked up infected families in their houses
provided the best medical care available
left them to their fate
Q4.
Place the countries into the order in which they were affected by the Black Death.
1 - Italy
2 - France
3 - Holy Roman Empire
4 - Poland
Q5.
Which group of people were blamed for the Black Death in the Holy Roman Empire?
Correct Answer: Jewish people, Jews
Q6.
After the Black Death, how long did it take the population of Europe to return to pre-plague levels?
10 years
50 years
75 years
Correct answer: 150 years

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