The History of the Black Death

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.

The nursery rhyme “ Ring Around The Rosy” is more than a popular song little children sing while holding hands, walking around in a circle and then falling down. The nursery rhyme refers to the Black Death, one of the worst plagues of all time (Schladweller). Known as infectious diseases that spread quickly and kill countless people, plagues have had a tremendous affect on people around the world since the beginning of time. The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, is a contagious bacterial infection that has killed millions of people. With the bubonic plague brutally killing one fourth of Europe in the 14th century and devastating China in the 18th century (Link), it is noted in history books as the worst plague of all times.

Most who suffered form this epidemic did not live past three days (Trueman 1). Because the vermin spread this disease so rapidly, it would eventually affect most of Europe. The source of the Black Death was unknown at the time; therefore physicians could not stop the spread or treat the infected (Byrne 1). Many people thought that it was God’s punishment, so to appease Him, they publicly whipped themselves (Byrne 1). Before declining, the Black Death killed around forty percent of the European populations, which is about 25 million victims, making it one of the most widely known epidemics.

The Black Death of the 14th Century The Black Death began in 1348 creating one of the most horrifying pandemics to ever happen in human history. After devastating millions of people, the Black Death finally came to an end in 1350. It is believed that it originated in Central Asia, and then spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe area. Symptoms of the bubonic plague spread quickly across Europe killing almost one-third of its population, causing a dramatic change in the peasant's religious, social, and economic life. What is the Black Death?

22 Nov. 2013. “Black Death.” 2014. The History Channel website. Jan 16 2014, 3:51 http://www.history.com/topics/black-death. K., Alchin L. "Black Death."

14th Century Outbreak of the Black Plague In 1300, multiple out breaks of the Black Plague arised. For example, in the thirteenth century an outbreak in China killed one third of the population. Several dates before this time showed the disease was present years ago in Europe. Dying from the Plague was scary to most people and Jordan Mcmullin, an author stresses, “Whenever the Plague appeared the sadness of death was terrifying” (Mcmullin n.pag.). Death has always been frightening, but when a country plagues with disease, death becomes a terrible fear, the Plague scared the people of 541, and 542, when their outbreak of the Plague spread.

“Ring around the rosy pocket full of posy.” Most people think of this as just a childhood rhyme. In reality it is a rhyme about the Black Death. The Black Death was a horrendous and infectious disease that killed millions of people in the 1300’s. This plague effect the people n Europe in such a way that people believed god and even nursery rhymes punished them were made up about it. It is probably one of the worst catastrophes that have happened in the history of medicine.

The Black Death is a very terrible disease that killed a large amount of people. The year that this pandemic started was 1348 and went on to last for another 12 years (history staff). This is thought to be the worst disease ever, it took more lives than any other pandemic or war before its time (Encyclopedia). The symptoms of this sickness will prove those thoughts to be correct. The first thing for most would be a headache, then chills and fever, and some more common ones were nausea, vomiting, back pain, and soreness.

A select few of these ailments, called pandemics, are highly contagious and can afflict mass amounts of people in a short period of time. One example of a pandemic is the Black Death. It swept through Europe in the 14th century, killing an estimated 75 million people and causing the collapse of the Feudal system. The Black Death is considered one of the deadliest pandemics in history because of the speed of its spread, the death toll, and the lasting effects it had on humanity. The speed at which the plague came about was a major factor in its lethality.

The plague began when fleas frantically searching for food began to bite humans as well as rats, giving the humans Yersinia pestis, which unknown to the human immune system, manifested into the plague (Damen 2014). However, humans can not only contract the disease from fleas biting them, but also by inhaling the bacteria. In humans the disease can manifest in three ways: bubonic, septicemic or pneumonic way. In the bubonic plague (which was most common during the Black Death) the lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, and groin swell and blacken into “buboes” that then infect the rest of the body. The common practice was to pop these boils, and so typically infection killed the patient if the disease managed to not.