Bubonic Plague
.... It began in a time when it was believed that only heathens and sinners would be struck by disease. Epidemics were not caused by microscopic bacteria but by God’s wrath. At the outbreak, many ignored its spread in Europe. However, the plague continued to spread rapidly and people began to doubt their theories when it descended indiscriminately on heathen and Christian, sinner and saint alike. (Page Wise p1) When the superstitious cure of Medieval doctors failed to cure anyone people began to look elsewhere for answers (Bushey p3). The Church could provide little help or comfort, opening monasteries and hospitals run by its officials, but for the most part seeking seclusion and isolation from the infected people. Once the Plague came to an end people feared that the disease would come back. Now conscious that it was not God’s punishment that caused the death, Europeans began to explore science and the world around them, resulting in the Renaissance period (Page Wise p2) Science and medicine began experimenting with diseases in hopes on finding cures. Inventors and inventions thrived, improving the way humankind lived, and explorers set out to find faster, more efficient trade routes and increased wealth. Sea faring flourished and nations began developing strong sense of national unity and pride. (Page Wise p4) It is very likely that if the disease had not been so detrimental that America may not have been discovered because new trade routes would never have been expl...