The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth

The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged
fourteenth-century Europe, has intrigued scholars ever
since Francis Gasquet's 1893 study contending that
this epidemic greatly intensified the political and
religious upheaval that ended the Middle Ages. Thirtysix
years later, historian George Coulton agreed but,
paradoxically, attributed a silver lining to the Black
Death: prosperity engendered by diminished
competition for food, shelter, and work led survivors of
the epidemic into the Renaissance and subsequent rise
of modern Europe.
In the 1930s, however, Evgeny Kosminsky and other
Marxist historians claimed the epidemic was merely an
ancillary factor contributing to a general agrarian crisis
stemming primarily from the inevitable decay of
European feudalism. In arguing that this decline of
feudalism was economically determined, the Marxist
asserted that the Black Death was a relatively
insignificant factor. This became the prevailing view
until after the Second World War, when studies of
specific regions and towns revealed astonishing
mortality rates ascribed to the epidemic, thus restoring
the central role of the Black Death in history.
This central role of the Black Death (traditionally
attributed to bubonic plague brought from Asia) has
been recently challenged from another direction.
Building on bacteriologist John Shrewsbury's
speculations about mislabeled epidemics, zoologist
Graham Twigg employs urban case studies suggesting
that the rat population in Europe was both too sparse
and insufficiently migratory to have spread plague.
Moreover, Twigg disputes the traditional trade-ship
explanation for plague transmissions by extrapolating
from data on the number of dead rats aboard Nile
sailing vessels in 1912. The Black Death, which he
conjectures was anthrax instead of bubonic plague,
therefore caused far less havoc and fewer deaths than
historians typically claim.
Although correctly citing the exacting conditions
needed to start or spread bubonic plague, Twigg
ignores virtually a century of scholarship contradictory
to his findings and employs faulty logic in his singleminded
approach to the Black Death. His speculative
generalizations about the numbers of rats in medieval
Europe are based on isolated studies unrepresentative
of medieval conditions, while his unconvincing tradeship
argument overlooks land-based caravans, the
overland migration of infected rodents, and the many
other animals that carry plague.


1) The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) demonstrating the relationship between bubonic
plague and the Black Death
(B) interpreting historical and scientific works on the
origins of the Black Death
(C) employing the Black Death as a case study of
disease transmission in medieval Europe
(D) presenting aspects of past and current debate on
the historical importance of the Black Death
(E) analyzing the differences between capitalist and
Marxist interpretations of the historical significance
of the Black Death


2) Which of the following statements is most
compatible with Kosminsky's approach to history,
as it is presented in the passage?
(A) The Middle Ages were ended primarily by the
religious and political upheaval in fourteenthcentury
Europe.
(B) The economic consequences of the Black Death
included increased competition for food, shelter,
and work.
(C) European history cannot be studied in isolation
from that of the rest of the world.
(D) The number of deaths in fourteenth-century
Europe has been greatly exaggerated by other
historians.
(E) The significance of the Black Death is best
explained within the context of evolving economic
systems.






For the 1st question , I was struck between B and D and ended up choosing B . .
Also for the second question , I cant reason out E to be the answer. Any thoughts of these , is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jyothi