There were various responses to the outbreaks of plague from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The most popular of these responses were fear, superstition, and exploitation. Due to the fact that the Europeans at the time did not understand the cause of this bacterial infection, they had mixed reactions and rationalizations.

The effects of the plague led to the fear of spreading the disease beyond the heavily affected area. The concerns of the rich regarding the plague are best demonstrated by the French author, Nicholas Versoris, who stated that because the upper classes fled due to fear of exposure, death was primarily bound for the poor (Doc 3). Lower class individuals living in the afflicted community contemplated the inevitable death of their own family, constantly wondering which member would be lost first (Doc 8). They even turned their back to their own neighbors. A house containing the disease was...