<span>a group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong. -google</span>
This quote relates to the development of the Fugitive Slave Law developed during this time to attempt to appease both the North and South. It was meant to benefit the North, for example by giving them the territory of California as a "free state", a non-slave state with voting rights. And to appease the South, what became known as the Fugitive Slave Law, which obligated Northerners to return slaves who had escaped. The "irritant" is the fact that Northerners attempted to avoid repatriation and returning of the slaves, so while the South had given their concessions of territory, the North had difficulty implementing the obligatory return of slaves.<span />
The Feudal system that had previously dominated Europe begins to collapse.
Considered divine punishment, the Black Death (bubonic plague) was one of the largest epidemics that plagued mankind.
In early 1330 the first outbreak of the bubonic plague happened in China. Plague mainly affects rodents, but their fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once infected, the infection to other people occurs extremely quickly. The plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymphatic glands called bulbs, hence its name. The disease can also cause blemishes on the skin that first have a reddish color and then turn black.
