And there were the Peasant Revolts. The high cost of labor led to laws to control labor
costs, but the peasants refused to work for cheap, so there was widespread insurretion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_revolt_in_late_medieval_Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
yrs, andreas www.andreas.com
I didn't see the history channel show, but I happen to have written my last undergrad paper on the Plague. And, yes, it did break the back of feudalism. The workers could suddenly sell themselves to the highest bidder. And imagine all the clothes and houses and furniture that suddenly fell into people's laps. They started making paper from all the excess bedclothes etc. -- rag paper..
There were so many dead that the living couldn't bury them all. The Church consecrated the rivers so that people could just drag the bodies to the waters edge and dump them and consider them well-buried. Eventually the church forbade the ringing of church bells for the dead as people were going mad. The Pope sat between two huge fires (at Avignon, I seem to remember...) and worried his emerald ring and survived. Millions weren't so lucky.
The plague put such a dent in the number of people who could speak and teach Latin (all that communal living in the monasteries took its toll) that literature began to be written in vernacular languages like German, French, Italian and English.
A fearful time -- but, yes, some good aftereffects. Interesting that...
Ursula
picking through yesteryear's ragbag...
Andy Amago wrote:
For those who missed the History Channel show on the Plague in the 14th
century (it was a good outline), one of the features of the aftermath of
the Plague was that so many people died (50% of the population of Europe)
that there was labor shortage. The nobility, more of which than the common
people did survive because they fled the cities, returned to a world where
there was nobody left to work their fields, clean their houses and so on. The Plague is now credited with breaking the back not only of the hold of
the church (like with the Holocaust, people couldn't believe God could do
this to them), but of the entire feudal system. The shortage of labor
necessitated the invention of mechanical means to replace workers, such as
the printing press instead of scribes for example. It's actually credited
with bringing on the Renaissance in fact. My point is that if (mostly
likely when) a pandemic happens, and if it's bad enough, pharma too will
return to a changed world. Unlike the14th century, a contemporary plague
has no hiding place except in underground bunkers. It may also last 12-18
months. The HC also did a worst case scenario for today (worst case, which
may or may not happen). In a worst case scenario food shortages will be
rampant because imports will be halted, people will not report to work to
drive the trucks or what have you, and so on. A world wide depression is
expected. That's worst case scenario. All we can do is hope for the best.
I hear school age children will be disproportionately targeted by this
virus.
[Original Message] From: Andreas Ramos <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: Lit-Ideas <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: 11/3/2005 12:49:39 PM Subject: [lit-ideas] Protect the patents!
Okay, folks... Andy is right about Pharma. Here's an item from Dan
Gillmor's blog:
easily may haveThe Wall Street Journal is running a story that begins this way:
Recent, surprising reports that generic Tamiflu can be made quickly and
as a hedge against aimportant implications for the global supply of the drug, which is seen
maker, said itbird-flu pandemic.
The reports also raise questions about why Roche Holding AG, Tamiflu's
us. If Tamifluwould take years for its rivals to copy the drug.
In other words: To protect its market, Roche has been grossly misleading
Roche, resistinghelps reduce the outbreak that is coming, it'll save a lot of lives.
take the risk thatgeneric manufacturing of the drug, apparently would rather dissemble than
something Roche doesn'tother nations won't wait for a single company to produce enough --
-- which has beenseem interested in doing itself. Meanwhile, the United States government
the last few days --unbelievably slow and incompetent at even addressing this matter until
not lives. Near thehas made absolutely clear what the priority will be: protecting profits,
aren't licensed forend of the story:
But the U.S. government has said it will not purchase antivirals that
Leavitt, secretaryuse by the Food and Drug Administration. In a speech last week, Michael
importance ofof HHS, said the U.S. "supports intellectual property and will defend the
arrangements andpatent laws."
"We're resolved to work through the FDA to accelerate those licensing
hope to see, at some point in time, the supply of the drug added," Mr.
Leavitt said.
At some point in time? When this pandemic starts, there will not be any
time to spare.
patents before itRemember what Leavitt said here. The Bush administration will defend
defends your life.
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