Plagues in England: Death Is in the Air

In both cases, victims very rarely lasted more than three to four days between basic infection and death, a time of intense fever and vomiting when which their lymph nodes swelled uncontrollably and eventually burst. The black death was one of the most unforgiving pandemics in human history, resulting in the fatalities of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and climaxing in Europe in 1348-50. People’s lack of knowledge for the way it spread was a major role for the black death to wipe out half of the population of Europe. Trade ships carrying rats, fleas and other animal’s infected with the bubonic plague came from Central Asia along the silk road. The ships eventually reached Europe and their deadly cargo started spreading excessively throughout the continent, affecting miniscule numbers at first but very soon reaching up into the hundreds of thousands and eventually millions.

Work Considered Benedictow, Ole Jergen. The Black Death, 1346-1353: The Complete History. Ole J. Benedictow 2004. Print. 15 Nov 2013.

In the years 1331 to 1350 all of Europe broke out in an epidemic, called the Black Death. This terrible sickness murdered about one third of all the people in Europe, it spread, and killed quickly. People’s lives were changed drastically; they were scared to go outside in fear of catching the gross disease. The Black Death spread rapidly through Europe having significant impacts on society. The Black Death started in China in 1331; it was then carried across the Asian caravan to southern Russia on merchant ships.

N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. "The Black Death of 1348 to 1350."

Terrible outcomes arose when the citizens caught the Plague from fleas. The transfer of fleas to humans caused the outbreak of the Black Death. Infections that rodents caught were passed on to fleas, which would find a host to bite, spreading the terrible disease (“Plague the Black Death” n.pag.). When Genoese ships arrived back to Europe from China, with dead sailors and... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Bridge, Deirde of Spean. “And a Ship Came Bearing Death.” Renaissance (Vol.1, No.4, Issue 4).

15 Jan. 2014. Knox, Skip E.L. "The Middle Ages." The Black Death. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"State by State Database." Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.

N.p., 11 Dec. 2008. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. Trueman, Chris. "The Black Death of 1348 to 1350."

No one, at the time, could have predicted the events that killed nearly one-third of Europe’s London population of 40,000 to 100,000 thousand in little a more than two years. According to Ewan Calloway, across the continent of Europe more than 20 million people perished from 1342 through 1347. Starting with something as common place as vessels arriving to off load needed cargo at one of Europe’s busy ports in 1342 (Callaway 444). The Bubonic plague arrived, known as the “Black Plague”, came to Europe aboard 12 ships from Genoese, at the dock in the port of Messina. The plague was named due to the trademark black boils, which would ooze black pus and blood.

1320: Section 6: The Black Death. N.p., 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.