CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: A - The Black Death or the Bubonic Plague was a great epidemic that killed over 45% of the European population in the middle ages. The disease was carried from fleas that lived on rats from Chinese shipping vessels. The potent epidemic caused panic among many Europeans for they lacked understanding of the necessary health precautions and hygiene, which could have spared many of them. Because of their general lack of hygiene, they targeted groups that have general hygienic practices such as the Jews.