Global 9.5 A Time of Crisis

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 * The mid-1300's in Europe was a time of great suffering in Europe. Many people actually believed that the end of the world was at hand.
 * The Black Death- a disease known as the Bubonic Plague ravaged Europe, killing one in three people. It was spread by fleas on rats from the East and into Western Europe. Rats were everywhere in Europe, traveling with merchants on their ships and infesting the homes of even the rich and powerful.
 * The horrible effects pf the Bubonic Plague attacked both young and old, the rich and poor indiscriminately. The people of medieval Europe had no cure for the disease, and so there was many strange reactions to the plague throughout Europe. Many Europeans simply looked for someone to blame, eventually blaming the Jewish people and killing thousands of Jewish people in retaliation.
 * All in all, the Black Death killedone-third of the population in Europe.
 * The Black Death and the continued secularism of the Catholic Church lead to many people in Europe to challenge the authority of the Church. Reformers like John Wycliffe demanded reform and wanted the Bible to be printed in English, so that the common man could read it. Many of these Reformers were persecuted by the Church. Some were even burned at the stake.
 * The 100 Years War
 * England and France were fighting over control of ownership of lands in France.
 * The use of the longbow allowed England to win many decisive battles early in the war.
 * When a 17-year-old peasant girl named Joan of Arc convinced the French king to let her lead the French military, she turned the was around for the French, leading them to many victories, boosting moral, and ultimately setting the stage for a French victory. She was eventually captured by the English and killed, but the French soldiers viewed her as a martyr that inspired them, and with the help of a new technology, the cannon, they succeeded in pushing the English almost entirely out of France.