The Black Death and the Birth of the Modern Worker

How plague collapsed feudalism, empowered labor, and reshaped Europe forever.

The Black Death Created the Modern Worker — And Destroyed Feudalism

INTRO — THE DEADLIEST ECONOMIC SHOCK IN HISTORY

Between 1347 and 1351, the Black Death killed between one-third and one-half of Europe’s population.

Cities emptied.
Villages vanished.
Fields went unplowed.
Church bells rang nonstop.

But while the human tragedy was immense, something else happened beneath the surface:

The medieval economic system snapped.

Feudalism — a system that had governed labor, land, and power for centuries — could not survive a world where workers were suddenly scarce.

Out of death came leverage.
Out of catastrophe came choice.

This is how the Black Death created the modern worker.

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