I said foreign wars, so US would qualify not any of the areas you mentioned.<p>The Black Death ended in 1353, so your timeframe is way off. And yes, total GDP was down, but per capita GDP was up as much as 35% in some areas which is a massive difference for the time period.  Standard of living actually fell as populations recovered, though agricultural efficency had improved.  1350 + 250 = 1600, 1350 + 150 = 1500.