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Ten Ways Massive Death Tolls Have Affected Human Society

Ten Ways Massive Death Tolls Have Affected Human Society

By Paul SmithPublished about a year ago 9 min read
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Ten Ways Massive Death Tolls Have Affected Human Society

The human species is doomed to death, the great equalizer, from the moment we enter this earth. Each of our breaths could be our last. Death sometimes comes more quickly than other periods, devouring vast populations quickly and mercilessly. The horrors of a fatal illness have torn apart our culture, families, and societal conventions in modern times. We are now witnessing the changes that this earth-shattering virus produced, which were first devastating. People are more connected than ever online and are working from home more frequently. Who doesn't enjoy having meals delivered to their door? It is not the first time that the loss of millions of lives has paved the way for advancement, despite appearing unique in modern times. So here are 10 effects that high death rates have had on society.

By Paul Smith

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10 Mosquitoes, the Louisiana Purchase, and a Free Haiti

Napoleon Bonaparte signed over the Louisiana Territory to Thomas Jefferson and the United States after attempting to put down the first successful slave uprising in history on the island of Haiti. At the same time, Haiti became the first sovereign black republic in the western hemisphere. The mosquito population of St. Domingue, as it was known at the time, was extremely high. Yellow fever and malaria were among the illnesses that contributed to a large number of deaths during the Haitian Revolution in 1791. Yellow fever claimed 100–200 men each day, according to General Charles Leclerc, Napoleon Bonaparte's in-law and commander of the French forces on the island.

The illness would cause Leclerc to pass away on November 2, 1802. Out of the 40,000 colonists that were present, more than 24,000 died as a result of yellow fever and the valiant actions of the Haitian liberation fighters. At the time, there were a whopping 500,000 slaves living on the island; 100,000 of them would perish in the struggle for freedom. Many of them were resistant to the illness and passed away throughout the harsh combat. Prior to attaining independence in 1804, Napoleon cut his losses by selling America the 828,000-square-mile (2.14 million-square-kilometer) Louisiana colony in December 1803 for $15 million. It continues to rank as one of the most affordable land bargains in history.

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9 The Black Plague Brings Economic Power to Lower Classes

Between 1347 and 1351, the Yersinia pestis, or "Black Plague," traveled from the dilapidated, worn-down docks of Italy to the icy plains of Russia. The disease was spread from rodents to humans by fleas, and it resulted in the deaths of up to 20 million people. According to some calculations, that figure might reach 28 million. While this tragedy destroyed a thriving, though conflicted, lively community, it also opened the door for the emergence of an even more wealthy social system. Nine out of 10 common people made their living as farmers prior to the Black Plague. Due to the aristocracy's high demand, crops were typically of inferior quality. Poor conditions and crops resulted from overflowing the soil. Following the plague, the landowning class and about three-fourths of the European population perished. However, the land did well. Due to the overflowing grain stocks and less demand for fallowing, it got healthier.

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8 The Black Plague Ushered in Higher Education

The Black Plague caused a large number of nuns and holy men to die. The Catholic Church dispatched these holy servants to treat the ill with the power of God in hospitals and infirmaries because medicine and general knowledge were lacking at the time. However, despite their confidence in the Lord, this simply reduced their numbers because they were not immune to the illness. Numerous new universities were established in an effort to help the Church quickly make up its losses and teach additional pastors. Education standards also declined as a result of the bubonic plague, which caused many teachers to pass away. To address both challenges, upper-class citizens with a sense of civic responsibility frequently created universities. For instance, William Bateman, the Bishop of Norwich, founded Cambridge University's Trinity Hall in 1350.

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7 The American Civil War and U.S. Industrialization

The American Civil War caused the most American lives to be lost on American soil with over 600,000 losses. The industrial north acquired control of the formerly split country as the agricultural and predominately slave-based economies of the southern states collapsed. Railroad lines swiftly proliferated across the nation as a result of industrial development and the free-market outlook of American economics. As many people from the South relocated to the north in search of employment, the segregated post-war economy grew rapidly. The United States soon outproduced many countries in western Europe. This resulted in significant amounts of food, raw materials, textiles, and handcrafted items exports to other countries, along with ongoing waves of immigration and a growing workforce. Although the Civil War's legacy did not end racial tensions in the United States and industrialization contributed to the repercussions of climate change that we are currently seeing, both were powerful forces for progress. And this led to the creation of many modern conveniences that we now take for granted.

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6 The Ambulance Emerged from the American Civil War

The Union Army Ambulance Corps was established by the US Congress in 1864 to quickly transport injured men from the battlefield to safety. The first civilian ambulance service was established in London in 1832, and although it wasn't the first ambulance service in the history of the globe, it was the start of the modern ambulance, which is still saving lives today. In 1865, a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, provided the first hospital-based civilian ambulance service. Edward B. Dalton, a former Union surgeon, established a service in 1869 at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. American ambulance services soon expanded as a result of the economic growth and industrialisation that followed the Civil War, setting the standard for hospital transportation to this day.

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5 The Vietnam War Ended the World Economy’s Dependency on Gold

The price of gold was the cornerstone of the global economy until 1944. Approximately three-fourths of the world's gold reserves, and the largest in the world, were owned by the United States after World War 2. The International Monetary Fund was established in July 1944 to assist war-torn European countries in recovering from the destruction of World War 2 and to combat the hyperinflation that arose as a result of military spending. Countries could exchange their US currency for gold at $35 per ounce, which helped to stabilize their previously unstable economic structure. There was an infusion of U.S. dollars into the global economy as a result of the Vietnam War's high cost ($141 billion in 14 years sustaining both American troops and the South Vietnamese army), the dollar's depreciation, and a competitive market. The gold standard was effectively abolished in 1971 when American President Richard Nixon implemented wage and price controls and ended global reliance on the dollar. The world's currencies floated against one another, just as they do now. During the conflict, 2,000,000 Vietnamese people perished along with 58,000 Americans. The conflict is commonly regarded as the first American military defeat in history. It signaled the end of the most prosperous time in American history and profoundly altered the global economy.

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4 From World War II Nazis to the Moon

Dr. Wernher Von Braun arrived in the country on June 20, 1945, to help American researchers create intercontinental ballistic missiles. Van Braun, on the other hand, was an SS officer and a former Nazi official who had been a member of the Nazi party since the 1930s. During and before World War 2, the Nazis wreaked havoc on Europe's population, killing an estimated 17 million people in their quest to "purify" civilization. However, Von Braun's invention of the V2 rocket, the first sub-orbital cruiser missile in human history, was valued by the American administration. In an effort to strengthen American dominance around the world, charges against his war crimes were reduced. He was one of many scientists who the CIA secretly recruited into the American scientific community as part of Operation Paperclip. After the war, more than 500 scientists were sent here to work against Soviet technology. This would eventually result in the establishment of NASA and the use of the V2 rocket in the Apollo 11 mission. Thanks to this renowned war criminal, man set foot on the moon for the first time on July 16, 1969.

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3 The Atomic Bomb Helped Create Toyota and Hitachi

The "Zaibatsu" group of ten big corporations oversaw Japan's economy prior to World War II and the atrocities of the atomic bomb. Since 1868, when 70% of Japan's population worked in agriculture, they have existed, relying on sizable tax payments to support their businesses. Over 200,000 people had perished by the time Japan complied with the Postdam Agreement's stipulations and offered an unconditional surrender on August 10, 1945, as a result of the two atomic bombs that had been dropped on the island nation. The Zaibatsu collapsed and free-market capitalism grew during the American rebuilding of Japan. Emerging businesses like Toyota and Hitachi gave us the technical marvels we still enjoy today.

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2 WWI Solidified Women’s Right to Vote in America

For women all around the world at the beginning of the 20th century, World War I was the breaking point. Women filled the void left by males who were away at war in factories and businesses all across the world. It fueled a movement that was already gaining steam. Women requested the right to vote and equality for their work in many different countries. Women in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Austria, and the Netherlands won this privilege in addition to many others in the years following the worst war in world history, which resulted in between nine and ten million wartime losses.

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1 Volcanic Eruption of Pompeii and Western Art & Culture

Over 16,000 people died in total when Pompeii was destroyed, and over 2,000 residents of the tiny Italian town were forever covered in ash. The stunning classical structures of the city of Pompeii, which had lain in ruins until 1748, were discovered. Neoclassical, Greek, and Italianate architecture all across the world went into overdrive as a result. Since its discovery in the Pompeii ruins, stucco has been employed increasingly frequently in Western architecture. It is still used today in many Western dwellings, most notably because it was first used by Scottish architect Robert Adam. The Greek revival cultural movement, which was practiced throughout the 1800s in many western countries, was sparked by these and other archaeological excavations.

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About the Creator

Paul Smith

I love writing stories on things that inspire me, I love to travel explore

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