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The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the Rise of Europe

byJames Belich

James Belich argues that the Black Death did more than kill a vast share of Europe's population: it reorganized labor, land, technology, consumption, migration, and state power. Severe population loss raised wages and weakened old constraints, helping parts of Europe develop new economic and military capacities. The book follows plague's long aftermath into expansion and empire while comparing regions that experienced different outcomes. Belich offers a bold explanation for Europe's later rise without treating it as destined or inherently superior, showing how catastrophe and contingent adaptation reshaped global history.

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Publication date

2022

Format

Print edition

Pages

—

ISBN

9780691215662