Anti-Semitism
Did the Black Plague Initiate Anti-Semitism in europe?
No the Black Plague did not Initiate it
The Black Plague did not initiate Anti-Semitism in Europe but it did severely increase it. Because Jews were less susceptible to the Black Plague than their neighbors (likely the result of Jewish ritual regarding personal hygiene), Jews were accused of poisoning Christian wells, were thought to be the source of the plague. As this image illustrates, Jews were expelled, tortured and murdered for the "crime."
How Did Anti-Semitism evolve in Europe and How did the Black Plague effect it?
Records of Anti-Semitism go as far back as the third century B.C in ancient Egypt. Anti-Semitism came into Europe after the forming of Christianity and it spread throughout it. This Anti-Semitism was due to tension between the two religions. The disagreement was about the biblical believes that the Jewish people killed Jesus and the Christians refused to accept the Jewish religion. This comes to show that the Anti-Semitism has already existed in Europe prior to the black plague. Although the Black Plague did not initiate the Anti-Semitism, it severely increased it and led to mass murder of Jews throughout Western Europe. It's final result was that there were no more Jewish people living in Western Europe except for Spain and Portugal which were later exiled in the late15th and late 16th century.
When was the Term Anti-Semitism Created and What Does it Mean?
The term Anti-Semitism was first used by a German Journalist called William Mahr in 1879. This term gave people a definition for the acts against Jews which was significant in history because there was now a new perspective on the malice acts against the Jews in history.