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Bubonic plague in 1732
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There has been perhaps no more widespread illness in recorded history than the last wave of bubonic plague to sweep London. This most recent occurance of bubonic plague, often referred to due to its magntitude and devestation as “The Great Plague,” occurred in London from 1665 to 1666. The plague truly was “great” in the impact it had on London, considering it killed off approximately a quarter of London’s population. The thing that strikes as perplexing is the fact that the plague was handled with such unpreparation, despite the fact that this was not London’s first experience dealing with this plague, it had been occurring on and off for over three hundred years. In addition to the years of experience in dealing with the plague, there had
There was the pneumonic plague, characteristic by a patients chest pain and severe cough. The other main strain of the plague was the bubonic plague, spread by bites from fleas carrying the bacteria, as opposed to pneumonic plague, which was spread by airborn toxins. Once infected a patient would develop characteristic swellings of the lymph nodes (referred to as buboes), followed by a severe fever with symptoms such as headache and vomiting. The main theme in treatment of the plague was the way it was seen by the general population and medical professionals alike. It was seen as a toxin that needed to be physically expelled from the body. This meant that the majority of treatments were focused around “cleansing” the body of the plague, mostly through bloodletting or purposeful vomiting. Bloodletting was a process in which a physician would prick an artery or vein with a surgical instrument, allowing blood to flow out of the patient with the logic that this would cleanse the patient of toxins that were previously present in the blood. The main reason this archaic practice lasted as long as it did was due to the fact there were no alternative treatments; therefore, continued practice of this treatment gave more comfort than outwardly admitting no effective treatments were present at all. Sometimes, bloodletting did show some benefit, but most of this was psychological (placebo effect). The placebo effect is when the patient believes they are receiving an effective treatment, this increase in positivity can have a positive effect on the body. In reality, however, bloodletting proved to do more harm than good. By its nature, draining a person of blood will weaken them, facilitate any existing disease, and possibly cause infection (Parapia, 2008). However, not
...ing north," he also suggests that movement should be kept to a minimum and gives a list of recommended foods (Aberth, 57). In addition, he suggests that bowel movements must be kept regular and that bleeding is quite possibly ."..the best way to maintain one's health during this calamity" (Aberth, 58). As evidenced in the doctors' prescriptions for how to prevent and/or cure the disease, attempts to combat the Black Death were meek if not completely futile.
Many wondered what the true cause of the Black Plague was and how it spread all across the world in such a short amount of time. Throughout its time period, many medical authorities and scientists sought to give rational explanations for the reasons why the plague was spreading and believed it was caused by several factors such as: “corrupted air and water, hot and humid southerly winds, proximity of swamps, lack of purifying sunshine, excrement and other filth, putrid decomposition of dead bodies, excessive indulgence in foods (particularly fruits), God's wrath, punishment for sins, and the conjunction of stars and planets” (Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence). The confusion and lack of scientific knowledge on the harmful disease caused much panic and triggered many outbreaks among individuals. Many people began to start placing cities and ships under quarantine, burning sulfur to purify bad air, burning clothes, and even blaming and killing Jews in hope that they could solve a cure or at least stop the spread.
According to The Decameron, “neither the advice of physicians nor the power of medicine appeared to have any value or profit” when it came to treating the disease (Document 2). The source of the Plague was vaguely understood, but there were many misconceptions among the general populous. Many people took the plague to be a religious sign. A painting by Giovanni Sercambi around the year 1400 depicts the Angel of Death shooting arrows down at the people below, showing how the Plague struck some people but missed others (Document 3). Additionally, the nursery rhyme “Ring A-Round the Rosy” refers to the rosary beads which Catholics believed would provide God’s help (Document
The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague is perhaps the greatest and horrifying tragedies to have ever happened to humanity. The Plague was ferocious and had such a gruesome where people would die in such a morbid fashion that today we are obsessed with this subject.
The medication in the Elizabethan Era was very basic.When horrible diseases came such as the bubonic plague which is also known as the Black Death. They medication back then wasn’t strong enough to fight off the symptoms(Philip Stubbles). The Physicians in this era had no idea where the bubonic plague came from and they were very skeptical about finding a cure. The Physicians started to study patients that had the plague, studying there blood flow to see what caused this disease(Linda Alcin 1).Even though they study their patients they still couldn’t find what had caused this disease the best answer that they came up was to bleed there
The disease was caused by a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis which was carried by fleas that lived on the black rats. These rodents helped spread the plague. The diseases spread one of two ways. The first was through human contact and the second was through the air, people were infected with the disease just by inhaling it. The symptoms and characteristics of the disease included fever, fatigue, muscle aches and the formation of buboes which is swollen lymph nodes. These buboes were usually found under the arm, on the neck or in the groin area. It is caused by internal bleeding which eventually forms black spots or boils under the skin (which is why it is called the black death). Death usually followed shortly after these symptoms
During the thirteenth century the plague started spreading, it spread through the trade routes of many countries. Many people only heard of the plague being in China, but little did they know that the infection was already following the routes. The were three types of the Black Death Bubonic, Pneumonic, and Septicemic.The Bubonic strain of the plague was more common, an infected person would have symptoms of chills, fever, vomiting, and rapid heartbeat. The person would soon develop inflamed swelling which were called buboes. Once a person had these buboes within a week, fifty to eighty percent of these infected
Late Medieval Europe was a very different time from what Europe is today. It was a time where social mobility was unthinkable; people lived in fear of their creator, and were always trying to please their creator. In addition, Medieval Europe was an unhealthy and unhygienic state, where sickness and disease was rampant. It was a place where women had little to no rights, and minority groups were frequently falsely accused of many problems that were out of their control. For example, they were blamed for drought, which usually resulted in their unjust persecution because they “angered” God. Overall, Europe was the last place one would want to live unless you were of the nobility. On the other hand, Europe was also a major trading power, engaging
Today the world is plagued with a similar deadly disease. The AIDS epidemic continues to be incurable. In an essay written by David Herlihy, entitled 'Bubonic Plague: Historical Epidemiology and the Medical Problems,' the historic bubonic plague is compared with
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
Kira L. S. Newman, “Shutt Up: Bubonic Plague and Quarantine in Early Modern England,” Journal of Social History, 3, (2012): 809-834
The Bubonic Plague DBQ Sweeping through Western Europe during the fourteenth century, the Bubonic Plague wiped out nearly one third of the population and did not regard: status, age or even gender. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Bubonic Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. The Plague was thought to be spread by the dominating empire during this time, the Mongolian Empire, along the Silk Road. The Bubonic Plague was an infectious disease spread by fleas living on rats, which can be easily, be attached to traveler to be later spread to a city
The Bubonic plague, scientifically named “Yersinia pestis”, widely known as “Black Death”, was an infectious disease, which, during 1347-1352, wiped out about a third of the world’s population, roughly 25 million people. A similarly deadly disease, Smallpox, scientifically named “Variola”, was a virus that caused about 300 million deaths in the 20th century. Both were massively destructive plagues that wreaked havoc wherever they were found. Smallpox was spread by contact with the infected person or clothing that has the virus on it. It is also airborne, which makes Smallpox deadlier.
It was a bubonic plague that came from Asia and spread by black rats infested with fleas. The plague spread like a wildfire because people who lived in high populated areas were living very close to each other and had no idea what was the cause of the disease or how to cure it. The signs of the “inevitable death” where blood from the nose, fever, aching and swellings big as an “apple” in the groin or under the armpits. From there the disease spread through the body in different directions and soon after it changed into black spots that appeared on the arms and thighs. Due to the lack of medical knowledge, no doctors manage to find a remedy. Furthermore a large number of people without any kind of medical experience tried to help the sick but most of them failed “...there was now a multitude both of men and of women who practiced without having received the slightest tincture of medical science - and, being in ignorance of its source, failed to apply the proper remedies…” (Boccaccio). The plague was so deadly that it was enough for a person to get infected by only touching the close of the
The disease itself was ripping apart the very fabric of society. The virus attacks the lymph nodes and lungs. The buboes formed from the virus are usually formed in the groin or armpit depending on the closest lymph node. The plague is highly contagious, spread by speaking, coughing, and sneezing. There are two types of plague, the septimic and the pneumonic.