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Difficulty: Very hardThe Black Death and Social Change

The arrival of the Black Death in 13481348 resulted in the death of approximately one-third of the population in Britain. Beyond the immediate demographic catastrophe, which of the following best explains the economic mechanism that directly contributed to the decline of the feudal system during this period?

  1. The extreme scarcity of workers enabled the surviving laborers to negotiate for significantly higher wages and greater freedom of movement, which undermined the rigid hierarchy of serfdom.Answer
  2. B
    The land-owning nobility successfully used the crisis to consolidate their power by legally increasing the labor duties and taxes required from every surviving serf.
  3. C
    The Church utilized the social upheaval to seize control of all manorial lands, replacing the secular feudal hierarchy with a centralized system of ecclesiastical taxation.
  4. D
    The recurring outbreaks of the plague in the late 15th15^{\text{th}} century forced the monarchy to abolish the feudal system to prevent a total collapse of the urban merchant class.

Answer

The extreme scarcity of workers enabled the surviving laborers to negotiate for significantly higher wages and greater freedom of movement, which undermined the rigid hierarchy of serfdom.
The correct answer explains that the massive reduction in the labor force following the 13481348 plague gave survivors leverage to demand higher wages and greater mobility. This shift in power made it impossible for landowners to maintain the rigid, unpaid labor obligations that defined the feudal system, leading to the eventual end of serfdom.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the demographic impact of the 13481348 plague.
One-third of the population died, creating a massive labor vacuum.
The loss of life was so widespread that there were not enough workers to tend the land.
2
Analyze the resulting economic shift in the labor market.
Peasants and laborers realized their work was in high demand and began to ask for better pay.
Basic supply and demand meant that fewer workers could command higher value for their services.
3
Connect the labor market shift to social structure.
The ability to leave a manor for a better-paying job broke the feudal tie between the serf and the land.
Feudalism relied on a rigid hierarchy where peasants were bound to a specific lord; mobility and wage negotiation destroyed this foundation.

Key Concept

The socioeconomic impact of the Black Death on the feudal system.

Practice More

Review the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 to see how these economic tensions later led to direct political conflict.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

The Black Death and Social Change

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