Black Death (1347-1351)

The Black Death (1347-1351) killed an estimated 30 to 60% of Europe's population — approximately 25 million European deaths plus 75 million globally — with a mortality rate five times higher than the 1930 influenza pandemic. Transmitted via fleas on rats, this bubonic plague pandemic triggered transformative social consequences: labour shortages empowered peasants, contributing to feudalism's decline, while survivors inherited concentrated wealth that funded the Italian Renaissance, with wages rising 200% in some regions after the outbreak.