How the Black Death made the rich richer

This article originally published on The Conversation explores the impact of the Black Death and how it made the rich even richer.

The author draws comparisons between the 14th century in Europe, including England and the impact of Covid-19 in the 21st century. One example relates to the power of large organisations and businesses and how these were able to capitalise on the result of social distancing (e.g., Amazon were able to offer food delivery services to help grow its market share in this sector). Compare this to the mercantile mega-companies, such as Medici family who were able to gain political clout and wealth following the Black Death.

The article could be used an as extension reading task for students to help them understand more about power and politics in society.