Plagues and pandemics have routinely disrupted the march of human civilization, wrecking economies and killing millions. But as each pandemic subsided, it set in motion a variety of social, political, and cultural changes that lasted far beyond the disease itself.
Great pandemics in history – the Plague of Justinian, the Black Death, the 16th century American Plagues, and the Spanish Flu of 1918 – revolutionized economies, healthcare, religion, culture, and societal dynamics to an unprecedented degree. History has repeatedly shown that things are never the same after a major outbreak as they were before. Here, Sophie Sanchez looks at some unforeseen yet fascinating outcomes of historical pandemics.
A depiction of people in Tournai, Belgium burying plague victims.
1. The Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE)
One of the first and deadliest bubonic plagues in recorded history, the Plague of Justinian brought the Byzantine Empire to its knees and devastated significant portions of Asia and Europe. It decimated about a quarter of the population of the eastern Mediterranean, delayed the emergence of northern Europe out of the Dark Ages, sapped the military and financial might of the Byzantine Empire, and shattered Emperor Justinian’s dream of reuniting the Roman Empire.
The Plague of Justinian had profound effects on the religion and culture of Eurasia and paved the way for the cultural transition from the Dark Ages to the Middle Ages.
One of those unintended outcomes was the Plague’s impact on religion. People were so terrified by the unprecedented and seemingly random destructiveness of the pandemic, they actually believed it would lead to the end of the world. This anxiety pushed people to seek solace from the established religion, which they hoped would both explain and mitigate the horrors of the disease. When it failed to do so, there was general despair and loss of trust, which created a need for a new, more merciful God. Christianity was suffering from immense insecurity at a time when the entire religious structure threatened to break free from its moorings. There was a fear of re-paganization that found a voice in the chroniclers of the time. The circumstances were particularly favorable for the rise of cults and iconolatry such as the popular Cult of Mary.
Ultimately, the scourge altered the course of history, destroying the Roman Empire, transforming Christianity, and eventually leading to the emergence of modern Europe.
2. The Black Death (1346–1353 A.D.)
The Black Death, a form of bubonic plague, came to Europe from Asia, leaving death and devastation in its wake. Estimates suggest that it wiped out over half of the population of Europe; in fact, the death toll was so high that the victims’ bodies had to be buried in mass graves.
As people struggled to understand the causes of the Plague, there was a significant impact on religion as many believed the catastrophe was God’s punishment for humankind’s sinful ways. One result of the high death toll was a severe shortage of priests – this paved the way for laywomen to assume more service roles in local parishes.
Moreover, the inability of 14th century doctors to explain the causes of the plague or alleviate its effects forced Europeans to turn to astrology, earthquakes, and Jewish conspiracies as possible reasons for its emergence. Renewed religious fervor and fanaticism bloomed in the wake of the Black Death, inevitably leading to the persecution of Jews and other minorities. Another popular radical movement that arose during the time of the Black Death was that of Flagellantism, the practice of inflicting pain on oneself, especially with a whip.
3. The American Plagues (16th century)
The American plagues are a group of Eurasian diseases – including smallpox, measles, malaria, and bubonic plague – brought by European explorers to the Americas. With no prior exposure to these diseases, about 90 percent of the indigenous populations of North and South America were wiped out. The American Plagues contributed significantly to the collapse of the Aztec and Inca civilizations.
One strange but inevitable consequence of the spread of these diseases was the development of anti-malarial medicines. Malaria arrived with the European conquest of America in the 16th century and rapidly spread all over North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean, becoming endemic in the wet, hot, low lands. Indigenous Americans treated the disease using cinchona (Peruvian) bark, a tree native to South America. According to a legend, a Spanish Countess who had experienced the efficacy of the medicine in Peru brought it back to Europe, where it was named cinchona in 1742 by Linnaeus. In 1820, two French chemists extracted the alkaloid quinine from cinchona bark; and to this day, quinine remains one of the most effective anti-malarial treatments the world over. Later on, the drug extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree gave rise to a flourishing industry and trade.
4. Spanish Flu (1918)
The global Spanish Flu pandemic was a virulent strain of H1N1 influenza that is said to have originated on a Kansas farm. It spread like wildfire among soldiers fighting World War I in the trenches of France and Belgium and eventually found its way across the world after picking up genetic material from a bird-infecting virus.
This global pandemic has the dubious distinction of influencing the course of the First World War and significantly contributing to the Second. An estimated 50 million people, including 675,000 Americans, succumbed to it. Interestingly, some of the victims of the deadly virus included members of the American delegation to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference – many of whom strongly opposed making German reparations a condition of the Treaty of Versailles. With the Americans out of the way, the remaining delegates voted for humiliating Germany with brutal reparations – a key factor that contributed to the rise of Hitler, and therefore to the Second World War. In more ways than one, the Spanish Flu was responsible for “re-sculpting” human populations the world over.
5. COVID-19 (2019 - Present)
As we painfully inch towards the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, several questions are being asked across the globe. Will we ever return to normal? Will vaccines against the coronavirus prove effective? What will be the long-term social, political, and economic repercussions of the pandemic? Do we really want a resumption of the status quo?
In many ways, the legacy of the pandemic has already made its presence felt. Few aspects of life have remained untouched by the virus, but here’s one (side) effect that is likely to make itself felt for quite some time.
It should come as no surprise that some analysts (and fashionistas) predict the mask becoming a wardrobe staple. In the US, mask-wearing is more commonly associated with crime than with public health. But the horrors of the pandemic – overwhelmed hospitals, over-worked healthcare workers, refrigerated trucks with dead bodies – has led some Americans to accept the practice of wearing masks as a public health measure.
With the change in public sentiment, manufacturers are rushing to cope with the massive surge in demand for masks. Popular influencers like Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian have frequently endorsed masks with their COVID-19-era selfies and Instagram posts, making them a trendy, pop-culture-approved fashion accessory. Though the science behind mask usage is far from exact, the pandemic has certainly transformed government policy, as well as American attitudes towards it. And as the national psyche is expected to be deeply influenced by the pandemic, masks may become a part of post-pandemic America, as they are in Southeast Asia.
What do you think of these historical pandemics? Let us know below.
Sophia is an online ESL/EFL instructor and a passionate educator. She found her true calling — teaching — while she was juggling writing and a 9-5 desk job. When she is not busy earning a living, she volunteers as a social worker. Her active online presence demonstrates her strong belief in the power of networking. If you want to connect, you can find her onFacebook,Twitter, and her blog Essay Writing and More.
