ion may spread from the lungs to other parts of the body. This in return causes septicemic plague. The pneumonic plague would take the life of a person within three full days. The septicemic plague infects the blood. Septicemic plague may also be initiated by direct contact of contaminated hands, food, or objects with the mucous membranes of the nose or throat. The septicemic plague that infects the blood, would often exterminate someone within hours. When this plague struck it murdered people with extreme speed. The Italian writer Boccaccio said that its victims often ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise. The Black Death struck during a period of time when Europe was facing many difficulties. The European economy was on the decline. It was approaching the limits of expansion, both on its frontiers and in reclaiming land from forest and swamp. Europe was also feeling oppression from foreigners (the Mongols and the Ottomans). These foreigners disrupted many of the trade routes causing many areas to drop into depression. The climate was another problem people in Europe were facing. The overall climate was changing, with cooler and wetter weather creating lower crop yields even as the population was increasing. Since there was a shortage of food, people began to starve and have problems with malnutrition. The Church was facing many different problems as well. First of all, many people felt there were numerous amounts of scandals occurring within the Church. The popes resided at Avignon and not at Rome. The Church was also unable to contain heresy in England proving its weakness. The Hundred Years War was transpiring causing many political difficulties. The Black Death exacerbated the problems and difficulties. Preexisting problems and difficulties caused the effects of the plague to seem twice as horrible.People in Europe soon began to react and try to explain why and where the ...
