The World the Plague Made : The Black Death and the Rise of Europe

A groundbreaking history of how the Black Death unleashed revolutionary change across the medieval world and ushered in the modern age In 1346, a catastrophic plague beset Europe and its neighbours. The Black Death was a human tragedy that abruptly halved entire populations and caused untold suffering, but it also brought about a cultural and economic renewal on a scale never before witnessed. The World the Plague Made is a panoramic history of how the bubonic plague revolutionized labour, trade, and technology and set the stage for Europe’s global expansion. James Belich takes readers across centuries and continents to shed new light on one of history’s greatest paradoxes. Why did Europe’s dramatic rise begin in the wake of the Black Death? Belich shows how plague doubled the per capita endowment of everything even as it decimated the population. Many more people had disposable incomes. Demand grew for silks, sugar, spices, furs, gold, and slaves. Europe expanded to satisfy that demand―and plague provided the means. Labour scarcity drove more use of waterpower, wind power, and gunpowder. Technologies like water-powered blast furnaces, heavily gunned galleons, and musketry were fast-tracked by plague. A new “crew culture” of “disposable males” emerged to man the guns and galleons. Setting the rise of Western Europe in global context, Belich demonstrates how the mighty empires of the Middle East and Russia also flourished after the plague, and how European expansion was deeply entangled with the Chinese and other peoples throughout the world. En 1346, una plaga catastrófica asoló Europa y sus vecinos. La peste negra fue una tragedia humana que redujo bruscamente a la mitad poblaciones enteras y causó un sufrimiento incalculable, pero también provocó una renovación cultural y económica a una escala nunca vista. El mundo que hizo la peste es una historia panorámica de cómo la peste bubónica revolucionó el trabajo, el comercio y la tecnología y preparó el terreno para la expansión global de Europa.0James Belich lleva a los lectores a través de siglos y continentes para arrojar nueva luz sobre una de las mayores paradojas de la historia. ¿Por qué el dramático ascenso de Europa comenzó a raíz de la peste negra? Belich muestra cómo la peste duplicó la dotación per cápita de todo, incluso cuando diezmó la población. Mucha más gente tenía ingresos disponibles. Creció la demanda de sedas, azúcar, especias, pieles, oro y esclavos. Europa se expandió para satisfacer esa demanda, y la peste proporcionó los medios. La escasez de mano de obra impulsó el uso de la energía hidráulica, la energía eólica y la pólvora. Tecnologías como los altos hornos de agua, los galeones fuertemente artillados y la mosquetería fueron impulsadas por la peste. Al situar el auge de Europa Occidental en un contexto global, Belich demuestra que los poderosos imperios de Oriente Medio y Rusia también florecieron después de la peste, y que la expansión europea estuvo profundamente relacionada con los chinos y otros pueblos del mundo "In 1346, a catastrophic plague beset Europe and its neighbours. The Black Death was a human tragedy that abruptly halved entire populations and caused untold suffering, but it also brought about a cultural and economic renewal on a scale never before witnessed. The World the Plague Made is a panoramic history of how the bubonic plague revolutionized labour, trade, and technology and set the stage for Europe's global expansion. James Belich takes readers across centuries and continents to shed new light on one of history's greatest paradoxes. Why did Europe's dramatic rise begin in the wake of the Black Death? Belich shows how plague doubled the per capita endowment of everything even as it decimated the population. Many more people had disposable incomes. Demand grew for silks, sugar, spices, furs, gold, and slaves. Europe expanded to satisfy that demand-and plague provided the means. Labour scarcity drove more use of waterpower, wind power, and gunpowder. Technologies like water-powered blast furnaces, heavily gunned galleons, and musketry were fast-tracked by plague. A new "crew culture" of "disposable males" emerged to man the guns and galleons. Setting the rise of Western Europe in global context, Belich demonstrates how the mighty empires of the Middle East and Russia also flourished after the plague, and how European expansion was deeply entangled with the Chinese and other peoples throughout the world."-- Provided by publisher