What were the problems in medieval times?
Illnesses like tuberculosis, sweating sickness, smallpox, dysentery, typhoid, influenza, mumps and gastrointestinal infections could and did kill. The Great Famine of the early 14th century was particularly bad: climate change led to much colder than average temperatures in Europe from c1300 – the ‘Little Ice Age’.
How was Africa affected by the Black Plague?
In the 14th century, the Black Death swept across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, killing up to 50% of the population in some cities. If proved, the presence of plague would put renewed attention on the medieval trade routes that linked sub-Saharan Africa to other continents.
Were there Africans in medieval times?
In the context of how Africa and South America came to be populated, the medieval world thought they were the descendants of Noah’s son Ham in the Old Testament, so Africans and South Americans were the same stock as Europeans but living on a different continent.
Why were Medieval towns so dirty?
Towns were dirty places to live in. Rats were very common in towns and cities and lead to the Black Death of 1348 to 1349. Towns might use pigs to eat what rubbish there was. Water was far from clean as a local river would have been polluted with toilet waste thrown into it from villages both upstream and downstream.
What was one benefit of living in a Medieval town?
What were the advantages and disadvantages of living in a medieval city? The advantages were that living in a Medieval community you would have more protection and more goods. The downside is that you might also suffer more disease and crowded conditions.
Did plague hit Africa?
Although the dating of its arrival remains to be confirmed, the evidence from both genetics and circumstantial historical accounts suggests that plague came to East Africa through the Middle East and not from India or, as had earlier been proposed, China.
When did the Black Death End?
1346 – 1352
Black Death/Periods
Did medieval Europe know about Africa?
Europeans did not have much knowledge of Africa in the medieval period compared to Asia. This chapter reveals that knowledge of East Africa was probably very slight before the late 14th century. By the late 14th century European navigators had gained some firsthand experience of the Atlantic coastline of Morocco.
What was happening in Africa during the Middle Ages?
Africa’s Medieval Golden Age: What Was Happening In Africa During The Middle Ages? – HistoryExtra During the Middle Ages, while Europe fought, traded, explored and evolved, Africa was a continent in darkness, ‘without history’ – or so the traditional western narrative runs.
Why is it important to study Medieval Africa?
The study of medieval African societies has value, not only because we can learn from all civilizations in all time frames, but because these societies reflected and influenced a myriad of cultures that, due to the Diaspora that began in the 16th century, have spread throughout the modern world.
What was life like in medieval Africa for women?
By today’s standards, justice could be harsh in Africa, but no harsher than European medieval punishments. Women had very few rights, but such was certainly true in Europe as well, and Malian women, just like European women, were at times able to participate in business (a fact that disturbed and surprised Muslim chroniclers).
What was the concept of Africa during the Golden Age?
This commerce created a concept of Africans as almost non-human – as people and societies without substance and without pasts. And, though the mass commercial enslavement of Africans has ended, this ideology is in many ways still entrenched in the mentality of many people around the globe.