"Symptoms of The Black Death" - Last Days

Once you've caught the disease [The Bubonic Plague] it usually meant death; it was more than likely to be inevitable. However to understand the situation of the victims who caught such a terrible illness; one must have the knowledge of what they went through. The symptoms of The Bubonic Plague, yet it may pass our minds but, there weren't only one type of plagues that spread through the 14th Century, not two, but three. The most common and revolting at least externally, the Bubonic Plague; once the Bubonic has reached the lungs, we then transfer onto the next type. That being the Pneumonic Plague, infecting the respiratory system; then the third, the Septicaemic Plague, which infects the circulatory system, the blood. How gruesome as it may be seen, the Bubonic Plague was the weakest of the three, as both the Pneumonic and Septicaemic Plague has a mortality rate of almost 100%.

Now looking at the last days of the millions of people that lived in Europe, for most, after the being the victim of the disease, most often, they would last 5 days. Here is what the symptoms they faced at the time.

https://create.piktochart.com/output/46189032-my-visual

The Spread of The Great Plague

The Black Death has spread a lot in Europe, so much so that it took around 50 million people, reducing the population of Europe by more than fifty per cent. It made a drastic change in the world at the time and the years, decades and centuries after. In these tasks, we were asked to complete and examine the map and colour in the first cities to be infected with this disease. The years, as well as the colour, differentiate from each other to be able to see the pattern on where and how rapid it began to spread.

Once you have completed the map, answer these questions:

1. What date and in what city did the plague start in Europe? It started at around 1349 a year after it has spread around Italy and France.

2. Referencing the colours, in what year did the plague spread the most? The Plague has spread the most in the year 1348.

3. What patterns do you see in the map? The Black Death began spreading around cities near the coast, which I would comprehend them to be trade locations, trade routes for goods around the continent.

4. List some reasons why you think it took a whole year for the plague to get from Paris to London and Liege? Some of my ideas on why this was the case is because, the people of France and Italy might've only then begun to feel ill, which naturally at whom is where you would stay. Another idea is travellers for reasons unknown have not been travelling to London and Liege then. The final thought that has come up in my mind is that people were simply dead then, the population is less than what it used to be; resulting in fewer people travelling, ill, dying or dead.

 The following is a comic strip that simplifies how the disease has spread from Asia to Europe. The sequence of events is of the following:

1. Traders in the Crimea have been besieged for three years by Tartar hordes from Central Asia.
2. The Black Death breaks out among the Tartars.
3. The Tartars used their sieged machines to fling their dead inside the walls of the fort.
4. The disease spreads to the people inside the fort.
5. The Tartars flee.
6. The survivors inside the fort set sail for Europe bringing the disease with them.

Medieval Era: Hygiene

What was the hygiene like in the Medieval Era? We have touched on that matter in a previous blog post but we have yet to really fully understand and learn the extent of their terrible hygiene. As mentioned in the previous post, bathing was extremely rare, imagining the work that they went through and what they used to do, farming crops, raising herds, manual labour; it is a bit repulsive to how they managed the smell, dirt, faeces, etc.  Note taken, if only they did have good hygiene and have learned about hygiene then, it could've more than likely lessen the risk and lessen the spread of the plague. 

Below are some tasks that I have completed in connection with the spread of the disease, how it got to other cities, countries, etc. As well as the hygiene/belief of the people then.

Rats, Fleas and Humans

Following on the Black Plague, we begin to dig deeper into how it spread, what are the factors that made the plague spread. The main reasons for these are the vessels that carried the disease, mainly the rats and the fleas. The rats which carried the fleas were very capable creatures, they feast upon human environments. Not only that but they breed a lot and they produce a lot, they live in groups which make it so that the fleas which carry the plague spread onto the other rats. Once also a flea has spread onto a person, it makes it more than likely to spread further as fleas, having the abilities to jump high and reproduce at an alarming rate. Below is a simple diagram of how it spreads and some information that I have found out about rats and fleas.

HEC: Ensaymada

In the current lockdown, for HEC we are tasked with creating a baked product of our choice that is appropriate to what we have been leaning. For this task, I have chosen to bake one of my most favourite kind of bread. Ensaymada, originating from Spain, however, I have decided to take my cultures approach of the product, which is similar but a having a quality of a sweeter dough.
https://panlasangpinoy.com/filipino-pastry-bread-baking-ensemada-ensaimada-ensaymada-recipe/

Ingredients:

5 cups all-purpose flour

¾  cup butter melted

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 pieces raw eggs

1 pouch rapid rise yeast about 2 ¼ tsp

1 cup fresh milk warm

To how it was made, was quite straight forward, the milk, yeast and a touch of sugar were well mixed, these ingredients we mixed in a wide saucepan which I then turned the heat on to warm. It was then set aside for the yeast to activate; following on I added the butter and eggs, mixing the mixture well. On a separate bowl, the dry ingredients were then incorporate with each other, the flour, sugar and salt, evenly distributed and mixed; the yeast mixture was then mixed until a soft dough was form. After mixing into the bowl the dough is then taken out of the bowl for kneading. Kneading the dough allows for it to develop gluten, incorporating the ingredients further together. The kneading is an important part in making the dough rise later on. It will then only stop once the texture of the dough is fine and dough becomes soft, yet still a bit sticky. The dough is then left to rise in the bowl covered with a towel for 2 hours; then comes after the waiting the 2 hours it is then again taken out of the bowl. From then on the dough that has well risen will be then kneaded again however only lightly and flatten. The dough is then cut into manageable pieces and then form into a cylindrical shape and then cut into approx 80g. Adding on a technique I have seen in the tradition Ensaymada that I used to eat back in my country; the cut pieces are then rolled into an elongated snake-like shape and then rolled like a pinwheel. After they have been formed, the dough is then left to rest for another 45mins. The oven is then preheated at 160oC degrees; the dough is then brushed with a touch of butter on the top and cooked for around 15mins. 

I have made some changes to the method that I was sure that would not affect the outcome; which I believed turn out quite well. What I would've changed would have been the environment, specifically the temperature in which I have formed the dough. When it was set to rise I have noticed that it didn't rise as much as I would've wanted; as I believe the temperature of the kitchen was lower than the ideal temperature in which a dough would proof. Another next step would've been moving tray further down the shelf of the oven, which I did do after the first batch which turned out better; as the first affected the look of the bread as it turned it darker than what I would've wanted. 

The texture of the Ensaymada was soft, it was thick but was not very heavy. I have also added again butter on the top of the bread after it was cooked and then dipped it on granulated sugar. The sugar complemented the texture and feel of the bread; as the bread possesses a softer texture the sugar provided that "crunch" which went well with the butter also. Aside from the next steps that I will be taking,  I consider making Ensaymada as a success and would be keen on making "better" of my results in the future.

The Black Death Tasks

In Hurumanu 3, Chaos, we start to regain a better understanding of the environment and the state of Europe in that era. Much like how it is represented in movies, shows, having kings and queens, castles, villages; there were of course peasants, clergy, knights, etc. It wasn't such a technological civilization like we are now, going to church and religion was forced upon people, which does still happen today but not of a global scale. To understand peasant back in the day, farming services and work is from and given to much higher nobles in return they will be given protection. To put it simply the duty that they give from the peasants to the nobles were work for the king. Houses weren't what is like in this era, as houses generally didn't have electricity, faucets, etc. Strips of land were given to each home and each village had its own church which was needed attending as ordered by the priest, and thus must obey or punishment will be given this.

Moving from the environment we look again at the crisis, it had some very fundamental reasons why it became so massive. Hygiene wasn't amazing nor good, it very poor, it was a miracle to pass your thirties, a bath was almost nonexistent, now think of washing hands!  

It was then theorized by Plague "Doctors" that it was caused by the air, unbeknownst to them it was caused by fleas that thrived on rats.  The suit that the "Doctors" wore would've worked, the bad thing they forgot to cover the ankle and have placed air holes in the "beak".  The lack of hygiene, technology has resulted in an extreme spread of this disease, a somewhat inevitable fate...

Here we were tasked with drawing a what our houses might've looked like in that era, including some strips of land:

With the previous task, we were tasked to draw a picture of a Clergy from a description that was given to us (I have tried to use a medieval style drawing, flat/2D and simple):

Game History

In the second term of this year, in PE we have been tasked with some activities involving sports and games around the world. The traditional, cultural, generally games that have been played up to date. In this, we were tasked with producing a small summary into a game of our choice about its history; how it came to be, how it evolved and has change over time. Looking also into the origin of the chosen game, what it was compared to what it is now; as well as famous players of such games. For this task, I chose to look deeper into one of my most favourite sport/game which is chess. In researching, I have learnt many things around it and have made me inspired and motivated to pursue it further.

Business Studies

On BST, the topic of currency is what we are on, following what we now know about such currency and how it has changed over time. We were then tasked with looking at how we can change or give our own version of notes. In the task it's as follows:

Year 9 Money Task

 

You have been approached by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in order to create two new banknotes to be put into circulation. You can either create a new value of your choosing, or stick with one of the current values ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100). You must keep in mind the 8 characteristics of good currency:

-         Generally accepted

-         Durable

-         Divisible

-         Stable/ consistent

-         Transportable

-         Scarce

-         Easily Recognisable

-         Difficult to counterfeit

Your money must also be relevant to New Zealand, Christchurch or Hornby High School, and feature an image or images that are important to either of the three locations.

After creating your currency, you must write a paragraph explaining how your currency meets at least five of the eight criteria for good currency, as well as why you chose the images you did. You must then present your currency and paragraph on your blog. You need to include:

Both sides of two notes you have created

A separate annotated diagram of one your notes, labelling it’s characteristics

A paragraph explaining how your money meets at least 5 characteristics and why you chose the images you did

This note is worth 50 dollars as you can see and comprehend, much like the normal, usual banknotes it is made out of polymer, unlike some of its counterparts on other nations. Some are comprised of paper which is less durable than polymer, therefore, proving that polymer is indeed a better material to use for banknotes. Similarly to the other notes of New Zealand, this would be generally accepted as it is or will be 'imaginatively' used in transactions for goods in this country. The amount of 50 is indeed quite divisible by some extent as it is not only a whole number but also a number that is the multiples of ten which is quite easily divided by making efficient to use this currency than for example, 56. As time pass by this note will not wear off unless very, very, very heavily used, and will have the same value many many years from the present. Recognizable it is, the amount is written in the note quite boldly on the front as well as the back. Not only is it recognizable it is difficult, extremely, to counterfeit, the border, but the metallic transparent 'window' is also an anti-counterfeiting agent. The ink that is used in imprinting the note, the fern, the serial number are all in to avoid an easy counterfeit.

BST: Money and Currency

Moving forward with the topic of money, we have now started to look at different kinds of money. How currency developed over the years; looking as well at why money is used now. As mention in the previous session of BST, we briefly looked at the trade and exchange that was used before the 'money' that we know now. The 'Bartering System' was used before 'money' was, in which the value of an object or several objects are examined and are exchanged for either goods or service. The bartering system was then, diminished over time and gold was a product, that was then used, meanwhile bronze figures and 'shells' were also used around those eras. It was then followed by coins, marks so that counterfeiting was more difficult. That continued for centuries and it wasn't until Marco Polo thought of why not using paper 'money' as well, which was disregarded for a while but then was a success. Then what we know now as being able to transfer 'money' online, via debit cards, credit cards, etc.

What is 'currency'?

To be simply put, currency if a system includes and focuses on money that is used, generally on a country. Currency, as such are different for each country, however, there are some exemptions; like the 'Europian' currency wherein can be used in any, or most Europian country.

Examples of money/currency:

• Ancient China (Cowry Shells)-16-18th BC
• Charge it card -1946
• Bitcoin - 2009

Cowrie Shells:

Cowrie shells were used in all parts of the world; however, what we would focus about is its use in Asia, the modern classical character in Chinese for money is actually a resemblance of a Cowrie shell. It was not only used in China in Asia but also in India, needing 3840 to make a singular rupee.

Charge it card:

To use a 'Charge it Card' is used much like debt and are to be paid by the month. Unlike how 'Credit cards' work in which the debt is carried on over, and coming also with an interest. Commonly 'Charge it Cards' do not set a limit to what it can be used for, these companies usually get their income from the transaction value from the merchant fee. 

Bitcoin:
It may be more familiar rather than the two options that have been given above, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that can only be used online. Unlike the "normal" currency it does not have a central bank. Being that it is highly used in illegal transactions it has been criticized a lot.