It is appalling and disgusting to know that antisemitism has once again reared its ugly head, in the person of no other than a black woman, publicly and unabashedly. She stated that Jews who run  banks should be run out of the country. Does she realize that her ethnicity and race had once been a “plague” in the United States, and has she fogotten that Jews supported black causes?  It is one thing to be brainwashed and another thing to reveal her true character without any hesitation. I am sure she does not represent the civil affairs of blacks in general, nor, in my opinion, merited the concurrence of her counterparts who are enlightened and well-informed.

I take the liberty of emphasizing as follows: l) She should not forget that she belongs to a race that had once suffered the abuses of racism and bigotry; 2)  that Christianity is inherently Zionist since it is considered to be an offshoot of Judaism; 3)  that Christ was himself Jewish and a native of Zion (Israel) ) and that the New Testament is but an extension of the Old Testament; 4) that scapegoating had once been “the plague of Europe, represented by Hitler; 5) that Wall Street is not run by Zionists; 6) that the state of our economy is not caused by Jews. 7) that Jews are part of the fabric of the American way of life, no less than blacks; last but not least, Jews have undeniably contributed to many beneficial aspects of life in the United States.

Scapegoating is an epidemic that spread all around the Continent of Europe by ignorant folks.  Hopefully, the infection has not yet consumed this woman in its entirety. 

The Bubonic Plague

     Many diseases have had a devastating effect on human life over time. Now in the modern age we are stricken with aliments such as AIDs and cancer. One of the largest events in the past however, was the Bubonic Plague (Black Death).  Occurring during the Elizabethan Era, the Bubonic Plague was a catastrophic affliction that wiped out more than two thirds of Europe’s population in an agonizing death. The Black Death struck great amounts of grief, fear, and terror into the hearts of Europeans where seeing their kinsmen lying dead in the street was the norm. The Black Death was a detrimental event in human history that affected the dramatists, towns, and theaters in the Elizabethan Era. 

     The Black Death greatly impacted the human race everywhere it struck, but some of the hardest hits were coastal cities due to the way the plague spread. Historians believe that the plague (Known as Bubonic Plague) originated in Mongolia. Soon the Black Death had its clutches on several small Mongolian hamlets. Mongolian raiders eventually traveled with the disease in the saddle bags; completely infested with rats eating the grain, it was a perfect home for the infected fleas to hitch a ride. Trade also took its part in the diffusion of the disease. Traders, infected with Bubonic Plague, traveled along the Silk Road all the way from China to Mediterranean cities (Dunn 3-4). Without even knowing what was happening before it hit them, the people in cities such as Tyr, Damascus, and Kaffa were dropping dead in the streets after agonizing blotches on the skin erupted and they began to cough up blood. Bubonic Plague, now taken much of Mongolia, began its spread into Europe. A Tatar war party attacked the port city of Kaffa in the mid 1300’s. The Tartars besieged the city in November, not knowing they had the plague themselves, the attack was stopped when it struck their ailed soldiers. Before abandoning their attack, however, they catapulted dead plague victims into the town in hopes to infect the townspeople (Dunn 15-17). The city reacted by throwing the victims into the Black Sea, but it was too late, the town was already taken by the pestilence. The infected fleas bit rats that infested the trading ships and cargo crates that were shipped to Europe in normal day-to-day trade, thus spreading the plague across the Mediterranean. Kastenbaum expresses what happened after the attack on Kaffa (2-3) “Regardless of origin, the Black Death was an apt term for a disease that wiped out a vast number or human beings and inflicted widespread grief and fear.” Cities were hardest hit and tried to take control of an epidemic no one understood. In Milan city officials immediately walled up houses that had the plague and isolating the healthy.The Black Death is estimated to have killed over 50% of Europe’s population, reducing the world’s population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400 (Knox 1-2). No one knew what it was or where it came from, death rates rose to a max, and everyone on the planet feared the end of the world. 

      Being one of the worst diseases of Middle Age Europe, the Black Death also had many affects on the people it struck and the people around them. But what was the Black Death? Modern Scientists have discovered that the Black Death was actually caused by a virus called Yersinia pestis, or Bubonic Plague. The name “Black Death” came from the large, black welts that formed on the infected organism’s skin. These welts slowly killed you in an agonizing death as you coughed up your own blood. It is described as “The term ‘bubonic’ refers to the characteristic bubo or enlarged lymphatic gland. Victims were subject to headaches, nausea, aching joints, fever of 101-105 degrees, vomiting, and a general feeling of illness, Symptoms took from 1-7 days to appear” (Knox 1-2). It was also expressed by Dunn as “Symptoms included slimy sputum tinted with blood. Sputum is saliva mixed with mucus exerted from the respiratory system. As the disease progressed, the sputum became free flowing and bright red” (3-4). The Black Death also came at the worst of times. Europe was in turmoil already, with the Hundred Years War tearing up the country in the west and major countries facing an increasing debt. A mix of winter coming too early and staying too late caused crop failures and most of Europe felt the threat of famine. Earthquakes ravaged towns and overall, this time period was described by Bryne (2-5) “It seemed like all the terror and grief was a punishment from God, or just a sign that he decided to give up on humanity”.  Many people went to great lengths to show their devotion to God and to stop the predicted “End of the world”. Local authorities actually did more than expected at the time. Many walled up cities and isolated the sick victims. This did not stop the plague completely, but it quelled the death in major cities such as Florence and Milan were put on quarantine. The townspeople also did what they could to quell the plague, as expressed here by Knox, “When the government acts to prevent or control a calamity, but the calamity persists, people turn to cures. Many believed that the disease was transmitted upon the air, probably because the smell from the dead and dying was so awful. So, the living turned to scents to ward off the deadly vapors. People burned all manner of incense; others had handkerchiefs dipped in aromatic oils, to cover their faces when going out. Another remedy was the cure of sound. Towns rang church bells to drive the plague away, for the ringing of town bells was done in crises of all kinds. Other towns fired cannons, which was new and made a comfortingly loud ding. There were no ends to talismans, charms, and spells that could be purchased from the local wise woman or apothecary” (Knox 10). 

     The Black Death not only killed its victims, but it also deeply affected the living. People’s outlook on life changed as people were lying in the streets in agony from a mysterious, incurable disease. This ultimately affected the towns, theaters, and dramatists in the Elizabethan Era. Byrne expressed his view on the affect of plague on people (2-3) “The plague not only affected dirty peasants and trade workers, but also changed the views of noteworthy figures at the time. It was obviously changed to a worse view, and was reflected in their works of art and culture”. The Black Death completely wiped out towns by killing the infected and relying on the living to move away from the carnage. “Many people knew of someone’s friend or cousin who had drunk elderberry every day, or who had worn a jade necklace, and who had survived the dreaded disease.” (Knox 10)  In towns that did survive however, there was an increased need of entertainment. It has been proven that distressed human beings usually require more entertainment to get away from the grief and terror. Theaters and other entertainment venues thrived due to this new jump in entertainment value. Unfortunately, what the townspeople were looking for (an overall positive attitude towards life) was changed as the Black Death affected the dramatists during the plague. People such as Shakespeare were influenced by all the death and decay and it was reflected in their works of art. Sad plays and depressing stories were the output during the time of the Bubonic Plague. Many paintings depicted the normal human as a skeleton, describing the daily life of different people in these times. All great artists that weren’t killed by the great pestilence unconsciously integrated the terror they felt into masterpieces. 

     The Black Death has gone down in the annals of history as one of the worst pandemics in the history of mankind. Over twenty-five million dead, reducing the world’s population by a quarter and Europe’s by half. It spread with terrifying speed, and ailed it’s victims with black welts and the sputtering of their own blood. People believed this to be the end of the world, as God gave up on humanity and scourged them with a terrible plague. All the great artists of the time were heavily affected by the terror and destruction caused by the pestilence. The Black Death was detrimental to the society and population of Europe, as they had to completely rebuild their towns and recreate order. Clearly, the Black Death had a huge impact on the towns, theaters, and dramatists during the Elizabethan Era.

Works Cited

Dunn, John M. Life during the Black Death. San Diego: Lucent, 2000. Print. 

Byrne, Joseph P. Black Death. World Book, 2010. 20 Oct. 2010. Print.

Kastenbaum, Robert M. “Black Death – Rituals, World, Body, Funeral, Life, History, Cause, Person, Human, History of the Disease, The Disease and How It Spread, Impact on Society.” Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. <http://www.deathreference.com/Bl-Ce/Black-Death.html>. 

Knox, Skip E. “The Black Death.” Boise State University. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/westciv/plague/>.

          The first to feel the force of the Black Death were the people at the bottom of the feudal system (the villeins and the poor) as they had terrible living conditions; eating rotten food and drinking stale water. Hundreds of them died each day. After that not many were left, many villagers left their villages, family and friends and left to go to the bigger cities to save themselves so little towns rotted away after time. There were also not many priests left, the courageous, most experienced and respected ones died an honorable death, looking after the sick while the others just fled. Also some churches also just vanished because there weren’t enough clergy to do anything. The newly appointed priests were poorly educated and not as experienced so they were not respected. After the Black Death, the birth rate rose as well. To conclude the social effects, I would say that the villagers fled to bigger cities, churches and villages just rotted away and that the birth rate rose were the most important.

          As the villeins were the ones keeping the feudal system going and there weren’t many of them left, the landowners were desperate to find new workers/villeins to work and to farm their rotting land. To convince the workers to work their land the wages rose, then the worker’s original employee wanted to keep them so they had to raise the wages again, just like an auction. The presents soon realized that and demanded more. What was worse was that the market price for food rose and the workers need food to eat, so demanded even higher wages, because of that in some places the wages rose by 500%, this lead to the statute of laborers which is a law to stop wages rising too much.  Surviving widows were really well off some were even richer than most of the men. To conclude the economical disaster, I would say that the peasants got higher wages and food prices rose dramatically.

          The Black Death contributed to the collapse of the feudal system which caused total chaos, this is because of the villeins, the people who supported the whole system died. The surviving villeins noticed that they were special so demanded more and more. As knights and barons lost control of them as the villeins loft without permission and asking to be freemen and the barons and knights had to agree as if they upset them they wouldn’t work for them anymore using that as their weapon, their power grew. This was unprecedented at that time, this has never happened before. You can represent the power of the villeins with two fractions, one before the Black Death and one after; the fractions both have the same numerator which represents the total power of the villeins, the denominator of the first fraction is the total number of villeins before the plague. The denominator of the second fraction is the number of villeins after the plague, looking at the two fractions you will see that the second fraction is bigger than the first in other words, the villeins were gaining power. Another example of this is that the king himself had to be involved in this by passing a law which also never happened. Reacting to this “horrible” law the peasants went as far as challenging the king himself, which later became known as “the peasant’s revolt”. The clergy side was also hit hard. The clergy became very unpopular at that time as the people started to doubt god. This is because the prayers that the clergy said didn’t help at all. To conclude the political effects I would say that all the power was shifted to the peasants which meant that the barons and knights lost power, clergy also lost respect due to the fact that people started to doubt god, the feudal system is collapsing and that unprecedented measures had to be taken.

          I think that the most important effect of the Black Death is the social effects as if the peasants didn’t die there would be not be such a demand for the villeins, which means no economical or political effects (the fraction stays the same). That is what I based my conclusion on.

            In The Decameron, Boccaccio was able to provide the reader with a story of the Plague from Florence, Italy. Boccaccio felt that the plague had caused society to become cruel and abandon their duties to fellow man. He writes, “All of them took recourse to the most cruel precaution: to avoid and run away from the sick and their things.” Out of fear of acquiring the disease themselves, a mother would abandon her sick child, leaving them to die alone.  Many would choose a life of confinement in order to stay away from anything that may cause the disease. On the other hand, Boccaccio also writes that some of society felt that by simply having a good time, you could avoid the Black Death. This group was “ruckus raising”, drank without moderation and partied all over town. Boccaccio describes this as a time when, “all reverence for the laws, both of God and man, fell apart and dissolved.”

            In The Black Death documents, Christians felt that the Jews were responsible for the Black Death as a conspiracy to kill Christians and put an end to Christianity. Countless amounts of Jews were tortured and forced into admitting that they had poisoned the water. An overwhelming feeling of hatred had taken over Europe. Of the Jews that were set free, villagers persecuted them themselves. “It was not merely religious bigotry and fear of the plague, but economic resentment that fired the craftsmen and the nobles to their work of extermination.” Greed had also taken control of society. The extermination of a Jew also meant that all the notes they had taken for debts would be exterminated as well. This encouraged society to persecute them.

            The Black Death had ultimately caused society to abandon their traditional morals. Society showed no responsibility towards their fellow man. Individuals would place themselves first by abandoning family members in their time of need. Others abandoned their morals by drinking and partying. The Black Death had brought about a great amount of hatred, specifically to the Jews. Hate and greed led to their persecution.  A society that once looked to God and embraced values on being a “good” person and helping others was now a society that abandoned mankind’s code and God laws.

            The Black Death was the largest disaster of the High Middle Ages. The Black Death killed many people in Europe. Some estimates say half the population of Europe but others say between 3 and 6 people out of 10. Europe did not recover from it until the Renaissance but because of The Black Death many goods were in surplus, therefore peasants had a chance to live a more luxurious life.

            The Peasants’ Revolt was a revolt led by Wat Tyler. The Revolt was mostly because of the poll tax. The poll tax was called by King Richard to tax everyone almost equally; the rich had to pay the same as the poor. Poll means head; it was a tax on every head. Some peasants received a lower tax while others that were just as much in poverty as the others paid the full amount. The Peasants, led by Tyler and other leaders attacked London, killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and a few others. At the end, the King’s men cut down Tyler and the Peasants went home defeated.

            The Hundred Year’s War began because of the end of the Capetian lineage, started by Hugh Capet centuries before. The war was fought between English and French royal houses. The English house, the Plantagenets had roots in the French lands of Normandy and Anjou. The war was long, 116 years long, and took a great toll on the English. After taxing their people and causing a revolt, the English lost.

            The Late Middle Ages were a bad time for Europe. They brought The Black Death, The Peasants’ Revolt and The Hundred Year’s War. The Late Middle Ages somewhat destroyed the progress that had been made to get Europe out of the Middle Ages. These 200 years of turmoil ended with the start of the Renaissance, when Europe finally exited the Middle Ages.

Harvard was one of nine children and in 1625 his father, a stepsister and two of his brothers all died of the plague, many of his siblings had already died as was the high rate of infant mortality then. Only he, his brother Thomas and his mother survived. His mother twice remarried but both her new husbands died within a year of the marriage. John Harvard then went to Cambridge in 1627 and received a BA in 1632. His mother died in 1635 and his brother in 1637.

Harvard had married Ann Sadler in 1636 and shortly after his brother died he and his wife emigrated to New England, they settled in Charlestown, a location where some of his fellow Cambridge students had also moved to before him. He was soon given the role of minister of the church in Charlestown but within a year he developed tuberculosis and died in September 1638.

With no children to support, the sum of almost 780 pounds sterling was bequeathed to a new college at the nearby Cambridge. This school had been founded in 1636 with his friend Nathaniel Eaton as its headmaster. Harvard’s library of about 400 volumes was also given to the school. Building work on the school began immediately and the wooden structure provided live-in accommodation for 30 students.

The school was renamed Harvard College on the 13th of March 1639, it was not referred to as a university until 1780 by the new Constitution of Massachusetts. The earliest college burnt to the ground in 1764 and all but one of Harvard’s original collection of volumes was lost in the fire.

A statue of John Harvard that was sculpted by Daniel Chester French is positioned in Harvard Yard at the University. The statue however does not resemble a likeness to the man it is supposed to represent, the sculptor had nothing to work on with regards his likeness. The statue is sometimes referred to as the statue of three lies. It claims to be a depiction of John Harvard, Founder, 1638. Harvard was the contributor not the founder, it was founded in1636 and it is most probably a likeness to a student used to model the statue.

On occassion, the cloud of Rocky Mountain Locusts was so enormous it was twice the size of the state of  Texas.

A doctor in Nebraska telegraphed to other cities to determine the edges of the mass, calculated their depth, and rate of movement.

His figures gained a Guinness Book of Word Records entry on the greatest concentration of animals:

“A swarm of Rocky Mountain locusts that
flew over Nebraska on July 20-30, 1874,
….must have contained at least 12.5 trillion
insects with a total weight of 27.5 million tons.”

The locusts ate every plant, and when the land was bare went on to eat clothese on lines, leather saddles, and the wool right off the back of sheep in the pasture.

They were six inches deep on the ground,  so heavy their weight, tree limbs broke under their bodies. 

People tried everything to kill them.  One method, which originated in Colorado, had a field-wide length of wire wrapped in oil-soaked rags then set alight and dragged over the field.

What seems to have caused this was that the farmers had plowed up land the locusts had used to lay their eggs.  

It is believed that the specific breed of locust died out after these three years; the last known pair is at the Smithsonian Institute.

Life in London during the Elizabethan era was very different from the way we live now. The wealth was divided very un-equally, and some of the more poor people faced poverty. All levels of society enjoyed various forms of entertainment; poetry, music and literature were the most common. There was a lot of fashion in clothing, and even household dresses were very decorated. The woman mostly wore tight dresses covering their entire body, with gold necklaces and no shoes. The men on the other hand had loose, long-sleeved, shirts with a skirt. They also wore huge leather boots that came up to their knees. The meals eaten during that time period were much like ours today. They had a huge feast for breakfast and dinner and smaller for lunch. The richer families had various types of fish and meat, whereas the lower classes had potages and stews. 

The Elizabethans in that era lived a lot like us, except they didn’t care much for sanitation. They had no plumbing, so they would put their wastes in a bucket and throw it outside. The streets had open sewers, so streets were filled with rotting garbage, and animals were allowed to defecate wherever they wanted. This infected air attracted rats, lice, fleas, viruses, diseases, and germs, all of which were common problems. When sewers were blocked, the domestic waste was carried out and dumped in the River Thames, which was their only water source. Most people ate pigs and cows, which were known to eat garbage. They only showered once a month and wore the same unwashed clothes. Many people didn’t even wash their hands.

In todays’s world nothing has become more apparent than the threat of bioterrorism. The use of biological weapons have been used in wars many times in history. The United States has become more aware of this threat since September 11, 2001. The fear that the terrorist could use disease-causing organisms or chemical agents against us has raised our curiosity in the potential threats they present.

Some of these biological weapons are:

Anthrax

Smallpox

Plague

Botulism

Tularemia

Viral hemorrhagic fever

Chemical weapons :

ricin

sarin

mustard gas

chlorine

phosgene

hydrogen cyanide

The health care professionals and public health authorities have become more aware of the threat of biological or chemical attacks. When anthrax or other bacterial disease is suspected or confirmed antibiotics stand ready for use. Using antibiotics to freely could lessen their effectiveness. Stockpiling antibiotics is not necessary since most only effect certain organisms and it would be almost impossible to predict which one would be needed.

Vaccination for smallpox may once again be needed. The US stopped vaccinating against smallpox around 30 to 40 years ago because the disease no longer posed a health threat. The virus had been eradicated due to world wide vaccinations. The threat that the virus could be used as a biological weapon remains as long as samples of the virus remain preserved. The disease is very contagious. The disease is fatal in about 30% of the time.

Anthrax the bacterium Bacillus anthracts and it’s spores cause anthrax. The spores that form which produce a toxin than can be fatal to humans and animals. The spores are invisible, orderless,and tasteless. The amount needed to make a person sick is smaller than a speck of dust. Three types are known Cutaneous anthrax ,Inhalation anthrax, and Intestinal anthrax. They can be treated with antibiotics with good results if caught in time. Anthrax is not contagious. Anthrax can be prevented by vaccine but because of side effects the vaccine is limited.

Gas masks may not help in a biological or chemical attack. The masks are created by the basis of the threat at hand. No mask can prevent all biological or chemical invasions. Fear itself is contagious. Cover your nose and mouth if you fear you have came in contact with a gas or chemical and leave quickly out of the area. Rinse your eyes and skin with water quickly. Wash or dispose of contaminated clothes as soon as you can. Experts think small groups are more at risk due to the weapons being difficult to control.

What causes affairs in marriages?:

1. Peer Pressure. Keeping the wrong company is dangerous. You end up following the footsteps of those whose company you keep frequently;
2. Nagging Wives. Men shun nagging like a plague. Men with nagging wives seek solace elsewhere;
3. Women in unhappy marriages, where the man is cruel and domineering, find solace in extra-marital affairs;
4. Revenge. Once one party in the marriage union strays, the other party may want to get back to the erring party, by themselves having affairs;
5. Men or women whose parents had marriages dogged by affairs have some percentage chance of having affairs themselves; and
6. Alcoholism. The frequent use of alcohol may lead to poor judgment, leading to affairs. Drinking buddies are likely to encourage that trait, either through word or deed.

How then do we avoid affairs in our marriages?:

1. Pray together. A family that prays together, stays together;
2. Device family cultures that encourage family unity. Examples are as follows:

1. Go on weekend outings;
2. Hug and kiss each time you meet or separate;
3. Once a year, go to the beach and have fun;
4. Talk on phone at least twice a day, for around ten minutes at a time, as much as time may allow;
5. Make time, at the end of each day, to chat with one another. Find out how your spouse’s day was, what challenges, joys, successes, failures, and so on, were experienced;
6. Provide a shoulder for your spouse. Be an encourager. Cry with her when necessary. Laugh with him when necessary. Pat her on the back when necessary.

1. Forgive one another. While in this world, we shall make errors and annoy one another till death does up part. If you can choose to forgive one another, life can be bearable. Cultivate the habit of forgiveness;
2. Learn what makes your partner happy, and do it generously. For instance, what gift do you think might thrill your wife on her birthday, or on your anniversary? Buy her such a gift as often as possible;
3. Take keen interest on what interests him. For instance, if your husband is an avid football fan, take an interest in football, and even watch matches with him. Also, get to know a few team members, so that when he is watching the matches in the company of his friends, you are able to throw in a comment or two;
4. Respect her relatives. Express some excitement when you hear her brother will be visiting. When you get the news that his sister is graduating, express some excitement, and even suggest the purchase of a congratulation card;
5. Play together. Pick a sport that you can, on weekends, engage in together. If time does not allow, embark on pillow games;
6. Take turns in visiting your relatives on both sides.

I believe the above tips will go along way in ensuring your marriage is happier, harmonious, peaceful, and therefore affair-proof.