The Black Death: how plague spread along trade routes, and what changed after

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Counting the losses and the false blame (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, a 2002 article in a United States health journal: the plague spread across Europe from 1347 to 1351, and Europe lost about a quarter to a third of its people. Card B, a 2020 medical journal article: at least a third of Europe's people were lost, which it puts at more than 25 million, and waves of plague lasted until 1352. Card C, Pope Clement VI, in 1348: he wrote that the plague was also striking Jewish people, and that blaming them was wrong. Even so, in many towns Christians falsely blamed their Jewish neighbors, and historians count at least 235 Jewish communities that were persecuted and destroyed.

2. 1.

   Card B puts the loss at more than 25 million, about a third of Europe's people. About how many people lived in Europe before the plague, Ari asks?

   • About 28 million
   • About 75 million
   • About 8 million
   • About 100 million
3. 2.

   Card A says a quarter to a third were lost and card B says at least a third. How do they fit, Bo asks?

   • They cannot be compared, because one was written in 2002 and one in 2020
   • They contradict each other, so one of the articles must be false
   • They agree, so the exact toll is now settled and can be stated as one number
   • They meet near one third, a fair guide, though the exact toll is unknown
4. 3.

   A student says, "Cards A and B prove that exactly 25 million people were lost." How strong is that claim, Esme asks?

   • Weak: card B says "more than 25 million" and card A gives only a range
   • Weak: figures from centuries ago cannot be used as evidence of anything
   • Strong: card A gives 25 million and card B agrees with that figure
   • Strong: card B gives 25 million, so the toll is exact and settled
5. 4.

   Suppose Europe had about 75 million people. What range does card A's quarter to a third give, Luz asks?

   • About 19 million to 25 million
   • About 7 million to 10 million
   • About 50 million to 56 million
   • About 25 million to 37 million
6. 5.

   Which card was made closest to the events, and what is its limit, Milo asks?

   • Card A, from 2002, because it counts the toll for the whole of Europe
   • No card, because no source from 1348 can be trusted
   • Card B, from 2020, because it is the newest and so the most accurate
   • Card C, from 1348; it shows one leader's view, not a whole society's
7. 6.

   A student says, "Cards A and B prove Europe's population fell by exactly one third." How strong is that claim, Noah asks?

   • Weak: historians cannot know how many people lived centuries ago
   • Weak: card A gives a range, and card B says at least a third
   • Strong: both cards mention one third, so the share is exactly that
   • Strong: card B says exactly a third and card A agrees
8. 7.

   Why does card C say the plague was also striking Jewish people, Pia asks?

   • To explain that the plague was carried from town to town by travelers
   • To show the blame made no sense, as the plague struck them too
   • To ask Jewish people to leave the towns where the plague was heaviest
   • To say that Christians had been spared by the plague
9. 8.

   Card A dates the spread 1347 to 1351 and card B says waves lasted until 1352. What does that show, Ren asks?

   • The two dates are the same year, so there is no real difference between the two
   • Sources mark the period differently, so historians give a range
   • The plague began a year earlier in the second article than the first
   • One of the articles is wrong and should be thrown out of the discussion
10. 9.

    A town record of 1349 shows its council protected its Jewish residents. What would that change, Tala asks?

    • It would show the blame was not made anywhere else in Europe in 1349
    • It would be of no use, because it is just one record from one town in a single year
    • It would make card C false, since the pope wrote about each town
    • It would show some towns resisted the blame, as the pope urged
11. 10.

    Card C says "at least 235" Jewish communities were persecuted. Why does it say "at least", Zee asks?

    • Records are incomplete, so some cases may be missing from the count
    • The count includes towns that blamed no one for the plague at the time
    • Exactly 235 communities were persecuted, no more and no fewer
    • The number is invented, so no one knows how many were affected