The Late Medieval Crisis: Black Death, Famine, and Social Upheaval

The Late Medieval Crisis: 13th to 15th Centuries

The Middle Ages, from the 13th to the 15th century, experienced a deep crisis. In the 14th century, this was largely due to the Black Death of 1348, which resulted in a severe imbalance between the population and effective food production. Hunger and malnutrition weakened the population, making them more susceptible to disease.

Consequences of the Black Death

The epidemic considerably reduced the population and had the following consequences:

• A decrease in production due to a reduction in labor.
• A concentration of land ownership as many rural people emigrated to other places free from the plague.
• An increase in feudal power over the serfs.
• In Castile, stately rents decreased while wages increased due to the labor shortage.
• An increase in anti-Semitism, as Jewish people were often blamed for the crisis.

These centuries were known for increased social unrest.

Demographic Crisis

Before the crisis, the Iberian Peninsula had been experiencing continued population growth. This growth allowed for the recruitment of labor, exploitation of resources, and conquest of new lands. However, by the mid-13th century, the first symptoms of stagnation appeared: poor harvests, food shortages, and land abandonment. This produced a biological weakening of the population, which became easy prey for the Black Death.

The ease of contagion and the weakness of public institutions explain the intensity of its demographic impact. The Black Death caused a massive loss of life. The consequences were severe: many villages were abandoned, and food prices rose significantly due to their scarcity. Famine and plague did not come alone; war was also a constant presence. The demographic impact was inevitable.

In the 15th century, the population began to recover, except in Catalonia. The population dynamics exhibited the basic features of an ancient demographic cycle: very high mortality and fertility rates, a low overall growth rate, and a short life expectancy.

Economic Crisis

Beginning in the early 14th century, an agrarian crisis led to a marked decrease in grain production. The resulting food shortages weakened the population, which helps explain the high mortality rates generalized across all realms.

Causes of the Agricultural Depression

The causes of the 14th-century agricultural depression included:

• Poor harvests, attributed to adverse weather conditions.
• War and the resulting devastation of crops.
• The cessation of land reclamation and the abandonment of cultivating marginal lands due to a lack of profitability.
• A reduction in the rural population due to the demographic crisis and migration to cities.
• An increase in wages for scarce labor and a decline in demand for products, which lowered prices.

However, the fundamental cause of the agrarian crisis was due to structural factors. Agriculture was primarily subsistence-based, having hardly changed since Roman times. Grain production was often insufficient, forcing many regions to import it. The majority of the population consisted of peasants, and almost all production was consumed locally. A single year of poor harvests, due to weather or plague, could cause widespread hunger and high mortality.

As a result of the agrarian crisis, stately rents fell. From the 13th century onward, sheep farming experienced spectacular growth.