this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2026
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[–] superduperpirate@lemmy.world 78 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Ya know, I have vague memories of reading an argument somewhere that the black plague killed off so many peasants that the surviving ones had materially less shitty conditions for a little while, due to scarcity and all that.

[–] Varesti@lemmy.zip 62 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Great news, we're bringing the plague back too!

[–] ladicius@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago (3 children)

The actual disease caused by pest bacteria is easily treatable nowadays.

[–] MutantTailThing@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Facilitated by such space age concepts as washing your fucking hands and not drinking the corpse-water.

[–] abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 18 points 4 days ago

That's "prevention" you're talking about, not "treatment", generally considered better, but still.

[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You must have missed the news. They're making a new stronger plague now :)

[–] blackberry28@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago

U mean the one in Russia where one of the researchers recently died?

[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 19 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Specifically, the peasants had more bargaining power for better conditions because the absolute decrease in their number made each of them more valuable to the ruling class as individuals. There was an increase in peasant revolts and concessions to the peasantry following the black death partly for this reason.

[–] logos@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago

Peasants only got the ability to leave the land they were bound to to seek better employment elsewhere after the black plague.

[–] Triasha@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago

This is true in places. There are also acounts of places where all the nobility died and the peasants threw weeks long parties.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

Yup, labor scarcity meant higher wages and bargaining power.