The Black Death was one of the largest pandemics in history, killing a almost one third of Europe’s population. This article will aim to compare its consequences with the current pandemic of COVID-19. 

 

One major positive consequence of the Black Death was the increase of social mobility. Depopulation brought about cheaper land prices, more food, and therefore a higher income. This meant that wealthier peasants were less indistinguishable from poorer workers, and so class boundaries were increasingly blurred. It must be noted that currently, COVID-19 is on a much lower scale than the Black Death. However, the trends do not seem to be reflected in the current crisis, perhaps due to us having a more liberal class system. Property prices have seen a dip of 60% in some areas, and the U.K. government has had to issue a support scheme for those who have suffered financially as a result of COVID-19. However, Coronavirus may actually be reinforcing the class system, as those with professional jobs are more likely to be able to work from home and earn an  income, whereas manufacturing workers can not recreate their work conditions at home, and are therefore more likely to be laid off or asked to work part time. In this way, perhaps COVID-19  differs to the Black Death, although time will tell whether the pandemic will benefit the less privileged or not. 

 

The Black Death also led to much religious conflict, mainly in the form of Jewish persecution. By 1351, over 210 Jewish communities had been destroyed. This have been due to the bubonic plague affecting Jews less as a result of their improved hygiene and isolation. The COVID-19 outbreak has similarly sparked religious frustration, however this is less targeted at one religion, and more to do with continued mass gatherings which could spread the virus. Tabernacle Church in Louisiana has been criticised for its continued services with 1265 people attending its last service. Similarly a mosque in Kuala Lumpar has been criticised for holding a four day prayer event with over 10,000 attending. Although both situations have attracted disapproval from the media, it seems that the disapproval is mainly focussed onto the specific communities rather than religion itself. Therefore although both pandemics have created religious conflict, it seems that the present day conflict is much less severe, and centred only on specific organisations. 

 

Although on first glance COVID-19 and the Black Death do appear to be similar, upon further examination we see that the trends and consequences are less alike. However we are only in the relatively early stages of Coronavirus, and only time will tell as to the similarities of the consequences of each pandemic.
 

Jasmine Jewell