Social factors like religious beliefs, economic systems, and cultural norms can influence the spread of a disease. As a result, the severity or devastation of the disease can alter social values and ideas. It can be seen with the plague which that ravaged Europe and the regions around Asia in the 14th century. The sudden appearance of the plague and the widespread havoc it caused resulted in drastic changes in society. The idea that social factors may play a large role in the impact of a disease also fits in with McNeill’s point of view that through expansion of civilizations through concepts like trade and war humans have allowed for the increased accidental spread of disease. The reasons for expansion are interconnected with social factors
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The reason so was due to the Mongol’s way of life. The Mongols success was due to how they “exploited the military potentialities of the steppe life” along with “the superior speed mounted horsemen commanded” (McNeill 192, 161). This meant that the reason why the Mongols was successful was due to how their lifestyle created by the harsh conditions on the steppe. The Mongols, because of the way their nomadic lifestyle demanded specific skills like horseback riding which was a large part of their society. The cultural importance of horseback riding allowed for them to field faster armies which caused them to be more successful in their conquests and expansions. Also, because the Mongols were sort of nomadic, trade was a significant part of their lifestyle since there are things that cannot be obtained on the steppes. As a result, when they conquered the areas, they encouraged the creation of the silk road with a system of outposts and communication which fostered trade because of how important it was to them. The Mongol’s values in trade and horseback riding allowed for the creation of a trade route which fostered helped spread the plague and demonstrates how social factors can affect expansion which affects how diseases spread and in turn, that can affect society and the …show more content…
Christianity was the main religion back then and the mortality rates of the plague and the ineffectiveness of the clergy to stop it gave the impression that the apocalypse was coming. The reactions ranged from “Flagellants [who] aimed to propitiate God’s wrath by beating each other” (McNeill 182), as well as those who lived in excess. The plague had essentially collapsed society and people turned on each other and created scapegoats like in France with the lynching of Jew “who were commonly accused of spreading the plague” (McNeill 182). There was no centralized source of power could do nothing to control the chaos meaning completely lawlessness. The plague is a prime example of how disease can disrupt society at every level. It affected the control the government had on its people as well as the way people thought. In the case of the plague, people adopted a different sense of morality, changed their way of life and there were even mass migrations away from large cities given the powerlessness of government to regulate society and the extreme conditions placed upon the
The reason so was due to the Mongol’s way of life. The Mongols success was due to how they “exploited the military potentialities of the steppe life” along with “the superior speed mounted horsemen commanded” (McNeill 192, 161). This meant that the reason why the Mongols was successful was due to how their lifestyle created by the harsh conditions on the steppe. The Mongols, because of the way their nomadic lifestyle demanded specific skills like horseback riding which was a large part of their society. The cultural importance of horseback riding allowed for them to field faster armies which caused them to be more successful in their conquests and expansions. Also, because the Mongols were sort of nomadic, trade was a significant part of their lifestyle since there are things that cannot be obtained on the steppes. As a result, when they conquered the areas, they encouraged the creation of the silk road with a system of outposts and communication which fostered trade because of how important it was to them. The Mongol’s values in trade and horseback riding allowed for the creation of a trade route which fostered helped spread the plague and demonstrates how social factors can affect expansion which affects how diseases spread and in turn, that can affect society and the …show more content…
Christianity was the main religion back then and the mortality rates of the plague and the ineffectiveness of the clergy to stop it gave the impression that the apocalypse was coming. The reactions ranged from “Flagellants [who] aimed to propitiate God’s wrath by beating each other” (McNeill 182), as well as those who lived in excess. The plague had essentially collapsed society and people turned on each other and created scapegoats like in France with the lynching of Jew “who were commonly accused of spreading the plague” (McNeill 182). There was no centralized source of power could do nothing to control the chaos meaning completely lawlessness. The plague is a prime example of how disease can disrupt society at every level. It affected the control the government had on its people as well as the way people thought. In the case of the plague, people adopted a different sense of morality, changed their way of life and there were even mass migrations away from large cities given the powerlessness of government to regulate society and the extreme conditions placed upon the