In history, what is the Black Death?

In history, what is the Black Death?

A terrible disease reached Europe from Eastern countries. The Europeans thought this to be a curse of the ‘savages’ who lived in these countries. Today, this disease is understood to be bubonic/pneumonic plague.
England, at that point of time, was prosperous, thanks to the efforts of Edward III, and the exports of wool and cloth. Hence, reports that the silks and spices from the East had carried the disease did not cause much concern. Then, on a fine summer’s day in1348, a French sailor stepped on English soil. He unknowingly carried the bacillus of the disease, and became the origin of the pestilence that later came to be known as Black Death. It is estimated that at least half a million people-which was a large percentage of population-fell prey to the Black Death. The Black Death spread, and reached its peak in the spring of 1349. It died out during autumn that same year, leaving and behind a disrupted society, and having ruined trade in Europe.