<P> Consequences of the Black Death included a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history . The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1347 and 1350 with 30% to 65% of the population killed . It reduced world population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million . It took 80 and in some areas more than 150 years for Europe's population to recover . </P> <P> From the perspective of many of the survivors, however, the impact was much more benign, for their labor was in higher demand . Hilton has argued that those English peasants who survived found their situation to be much improved . For English peasants the 15th century was a golden age of prosperity and new opportunities . Land was plentiful, wages high, and serfdom had all but disappeared . A century later, as population growth resumed, the peasants again faced deprivation and famine . </P>

Did the bubonic plague have much influence on the growth of the world population