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Though the result of the Black Plague is initially deterioration, seen in Boccaccio's Decameron, the decline stimulates efforts at reform and renewal. In 1798 the English clergyman Thomas Malthus published the first edition of his influential Essay on the Principle of Population. In it, Malthus concludes that the plague does not end western culture. On the contrary, the plague allows it to flourish and ensures its survival. Boccaccio provides a wealth of information about the plague …

…efforts responded. In sum, the Black Plague broke the Malthusian deadlock of the thirteenth century, which threatened to hold Europe in its traditional ways forever. The Black Plague devastated society, but it did not cripple human resilience. Throughout history, humans have always been able to bounce back from every sort of disaster. Europeans do not just bounce back from the Black Plague, they expand and create an entirely new world for themselves and their descendants.