all negative. In some ways, the disease actually improved the quality of life for the common person in England. One way that the Black Death improved life was by raising the wages paid to the people who worked the land. Because the disease obliterated so much of the English population, there became a severe shortage of labor. When you combine this premise with the economic principles of supply and demand, changes take place in England. With the shortage of workers and the need for people to work the land, a competitive market was created. Wages greatly increased. Working conditions improved. The disease also caused an increase in respect for the commoner. The peasants and the yeoman actually prospered more in England than they ever had. Another effect the disease had on England was that it opened up lands for the commoners to own and or work. Though the amount of land a commoner owned may be small, if the same person works the land that owns the land, the yields are usually going to be greater than if the work is farmed out to hired hands. Recovery from the Black Death was a very gradual process. Englands population would not be as great as before the disease for a couple of centuries. It was common for a family to have no male heirs three generations later, so its impact on the population was very severe. The Black Death did leave many factors for a strong recovery. Because of the decrease in population, there was a great surplus of land. Commoners who worked their own ground as a result of the land surplus prospered. Also in surplus was food. This large supply of food was more than adequate to sustain the population left spared by the Black Death. A raise in the wages of the common person was another effect the disease had on England. When you combine these three factors, land surplus, food surplus, and high wages, Englands population recovered. It must be understood that it took a couple of hundred years to ful...
