The Black Death is one on the most deadly pandemics in
the history of humanity. The sickness ravaged Eurasia from the late 14th
century to the early 15th century killing between 75-200 million
people. The reason for these deaths was the bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis also known as the
bubonic plague. A person is infected with the bubonic plague when they are
bitten by a flea infected with the disease. The most common symptom of the
bubonic plague are painful lymph nodes, known as buboes. They are commonly
found on the armpits, groin area, and neck region of the body.
The
Black Death is thought to have originated in the arid plains of Central Asia.
There are many ways that the plague could have traveled from Asia to Europe.
The most common way was along the Silk Road. The plague would travel with
Mongol armies, Eastern traders, or merchant ships on their way to
Constantinople. It is estimated that 25 million people died before the plague
reached Europe. The plague was introduced to Europe via Genoese traders. Under
siege by the Mongol army, the Mongols catapulted their diseased dead over the
walls of the Genoese city of Kaffa. The Genoese fled on their ships taking the
plague with them. When they arrived in Sicily most of the Genoese were dead or
dying from the plague. The Sicilians immediately ordered the ships out of the
harbor, but it was too late. The plague had reached Europe.
The
plague began to spread from city to city. It spread from Italy into France,
Germany, England, and the rest of Europe. It was a time of panic and death. The
disease was deadly and terrifying. It was said that a person could be perfectly
healthy when they went to bed at night and be dead by morning. The Europeans
were not prepared for this kind of disease, they had no idea what this disease
was, how it was transmitted, or where it came from. People would do whatever
they could to escape the disease. Doctors would stop tending the sick, priests
would not give last rights, shops would close, and people would try to run away
to the countryside, but the plague would always catch up to them. Livestock was
also susceptible to the plague and began to die off as well. In the end more
than 20 million people died in Europe which was about a third of Europe’s
population at the time.
Many
people at the time believed that the plague was a punishment from God, a divine
verdict to make the people pay for their sins against God. During the time
period this idea was not that far-fetched. Death was everywhere at the time,
and people had no idea what this disease was or where it came from. Where else
could a disaster like come from except for God himself. Now we know that this
was not divine power but a disease that was easily spread and extremely
dangerous at the time. If you were to contract the Bubonic Plague today it
could be easily treated with an antibiotic. This only shows how far we’ve come
as a species and it makes us wonder what is the next disease that is going to
destroy us all.
For more information check out this video - http://www.history.com/topics/black-death/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-the-plague?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false
Resources -
http://www.history.com/topics/black-death
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague
