Why Europeans were unable to stop or control the black plague

Why Europeans were unable to stop or control the black plague

The Black Death, known as the Black Plague, was a devastating world-wide widespread of bubonic plague that affected Europe and Asia in the mid-14th century. According to Duncan & Scott (2005), the epidemic reached in Europe in 1347 October following the arrival of twelve ships from the Black Sea at Messina, Sicilian port. People that were present on the docks were shocked since most sailors boarding the ships were death while others were seriously ill, and their bodies were covered with black boils oozing pus and blood. The Sicilian authorities immediately the return of the ships from their harbor to prevent the spread of the epidemic, but it was slightly too late for the response. Over a period of five years, the Black Plague claimed more than twenty million European lives, which is close to one-third of the Europe population. Based on Filip (2014) prior, to the arrival of the ‘death ships’ at Messina, rumors of a great pestilence were already roaming across the trade routes the disease had already struck countries such as Egypt, China, Syria, India, and Persia. However, Europeans were unable to stop or control the black plague for several reasons, such as lack of preparations, inadequate response resources, poor control regulations, lack of awareness, and reliance on religion, low medical knowledge, international trade involvement, and poor public health response.

Europeans were barely equipped to deal with the horrible reality of the Black Death. First, Europeans were not aware and familiar with the outbreak, and this resulted in fear and stigma surrounding the disease. The affected persons were characterized by strange swelling with pus and blood oozing, followed by undesirable symptoms of diarrhea, fever, pain, and, ultimately, death (Science Museum, 2019). The communities did not understand how the disease was spreading, which, in return, affected the ability to protect themselves and control their prevalence. Strangely, even touching clothes seemed to be a channel of contracting the illness. The illness was frighteningly effective since people would go to bed healthy and would be dead by the following morning (BBC, 2019). Thus, the lack of understanding resulted in the rapid spread of the illness across Europe.

There was no public health response to control or stop the Black Death. The most disturbing was the useless cures that existed to control the plague. Individuals resulted in the use of unproven samples such as the strapping of chicken while alive around the buboes of the plague or drinking concoctions filled with mercury, which did not offer any relief from the deteriorating symptoms (Filip, 2014). Besides, others were using sweet-smelling plants and herbs for purifying the air. The chaos highlighted the need for a prompt health response. Antibiotics had not been introduced at that particular time as the means of administering treatment to the affected persons leading to its spread and health deteriorations (Duncan & Scott, 2005).

The government and Europeans were not prepared for the occurrence. Despite the rumors of the disease given that other nations in the same trade route had been affected, the communities failed to do anything to guard themselves against similar attacks. In that, nothing was done in preparing for the plague or in managing it. The only response that was seen is the slow adaption of trade regulations in cities such as Milan and Venice since the plague was hitting from time to time. However, for other nations such as Britain, the response was rather slow since it remained scarcely prepared to effectively respond to the 1665 Great plague (BBC, 2019).

The control regulations with regard to the Black plague across Europe were poor. Post the arrival of the death ships in 1347 in Messina, Italy, and the immediate response was turning the ships were especially those that were suspected of originating from infected regions (Science Museum, 2019). The response was not adequate since authorities did nothing to protect the population. Authorities in different cities such as Venice began formalizing protective measures in response to the plagues by closing the water to vessels that were being suspected of spreading the infections (BBC, 2019). Besides, travelers were subjected to thirty days of isolation to protect the general public, which was later expanded to forty days resulting in the development of a quarantine concept (Filip, 2014). Remote cemeteries were also set where the victims were buried in alignment with the set standards, but the measures were rather ineffective, and people died in thousands.

There were misconceptions surrounding the Black plague that hindered effective management and control of the epidemic. For instance, people began to believe that it was a punishment by God. The situation led to over-reliance on religion as a control measure. Without accurate knowledge about the illness and its spread, most fled their homes while others decided to wait. Based on Islamic and Christian beliefs that a plague is God’s will, they believed that they were required to endure, and fleeing was not allowed (Duncan & Scott, 2005). Others resulted in religious cleansing activities where they formed groups and moved from one town to the next conducting rituals publicly as a way of asking for forgiveness from God, who was supposedly angry with them. The beliefs promoted violence towards religious minorities and outsiders.

The lack of evidence-based findings to support the spread affected the ability to respond to the epidemic. Physicians lack the needed equipment in terms of knowledge and skillfulness as they mainly depended on inexperienced and crude approaches like boil-lancing, which was unhygienic and safety threatening. Superstitious techniques such as bathing in vinegar and the use of herbs also prevailed (Science Museum, 2019). In the midst of the scare, healthy individuals did everything to protect them from contracting the disease. Physicians refused to attend to patients, and the minister refused to administer rites to critically ailing patients, and businesses remained closed.

Trade activities within the international market increased the spread of the epidemic. Europeans would not completely keep off from trade, and this provided the opportunity for its spread. Also, the existing response resources were inadequate to handle the extensiveness of the epidemics, which had affected millions of people (Filip, 2014). The health facilities and physicians were not enough to provide services to the ailing population, which was increasing by the day.

In conclusion, Europeans could not control stop the Death plague since they were barely prepared for the occurrence. The health response was weak and failed to account for the measures and resources needed for managing the illness. Health developments were rather minimal at the time, as the use of antibiotics had not been proved as an effective measure for countering the plague’s dominance. The misconceptions surrounding the plague also affected its control since communities relied on ineffective measures that led to more frustrations and deaths. The absence of comprehensive preparations and response strategies affected the ability to control and stop the epidemic across Europe.