历史小径·世界史英语30篇（5）

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黑死病：改变欧洲的大瘟疫

Between 1347 and 1351, the bubonic plague killed an estimated one-third of Europe’s population.
Fleas on black rats carried Yersinia pestis bacteria from Central Asia along busy trade routes.
Cities suffered most—crowded homes, poor sanitation, and limited medical knowledge made outbreaks deadly.
Labor shortages after the plague gave surviving peasants more bargaining power for fairer wages and land.
Some churches lost authority when prayers failed to stop the disease or explain its cause.
Art and literature turned darker, focusing on death, judgment, and the fragility of life.
New public health measures, like quarantines and travel bans, began in Italian port cities like Venice.
Centuries later, historians see the Black Death as a painful but powerful turning point toward modern society.