London Plague Research Paper

Many people have sung the nursery rhyme Ring Around the Rosie as a child, but does anyone know the hidden meaning? Ring Around the Rosie was originally written during the London Plague of 1665. This song described the ashes of the bodies that had to be burned after passing away from the Bubonic Plague. The plague has a very large history, and it has many things that factor into contracting the disease. There are three strains of the plague, and they have killed millions.

The plague is a deadly disease that has many terrible effects on whoever transmits it. In 1347, the plague hit Europe, leaving half of it’s population dead (Ghose). Years later, the plague left the Middle East leaving villages wiped out and others untouched by the sickness.

The earliest recorded and known case occurred in Athens, Greece in 430 B.C. (Ghose). During this time, Athens was under attack by Sparta, which then caused them to move citizens inside of the walls of the city (Burke 29). This created overcrowding, humid conditions, poor sewage, and dirty water, which created excellent conditions for the bacterium to easily spread through Athens (Ross). A mortality rate of thirty-three percent led to many deaths throughout Athens (Littman). During a three year period, 75,000-100,000 people died from the plague (Ross). One of the largest epidemics caused by the Bubonic plague was also known as the Black Death (Ghose). The Black Death lasted from 1348 to 1350, leaving six of every ten Londoners dead (Pruitt). This specific strain of the Bubonic plague was thought to have originated in the Middle East, and quickly spread from a growing trade system (Ghose). Years later, the Great plague of London occurred in 1664 leaving an estimated 90,000 people dead (Johnson). In 1665, the plague had reached a peak of death and mortality rate creating a panic throughout London (Johnson). Homes that held the dead or dying no longer had to be contained and locked (Trueman). The dead were now being carried in carts to be brought into churches and communal plague pits to be disposed of (Johnson). Many wealthy citizens fled to the countryside in attempts to avoid the

Some of these remedies included consuming emerald dust (Shariff). If rich enough, some would smash emeralds and other expensive gems and put it into a drink, food, or simply inhale the powder (Shariff). It was also known to cut small incisions in the infected skin and slowly drain their blood to cure them (Clark). If the host was wealthy, they would use leeches which were immensely less painful (Clark). Another common treatment was tying a chicken to an infected area on the skin and leave them there to “absorb” the disease (Clark). Although it cannot be sold in the U.S., Shibasaburo Kitasato developed the cure in 1898 (Ghose). It was also discovered that there are three varieties of the plague. The first one is the Bubonic plague which is the most common, and can enlarge the lymph nodes (DOH). Pneumonic plague is the next strand, and is the most serious (DOH). Once the bacterium becomes present in the host's lungs they can die shortly after (DOH). The last strain of the plague is Septicemic plague (Wilson). This form can multiply its own cells while in the host’s bloodstream, which kills them quickly (DOH). These different forms of the disease can all be contracted in different ways. The plague was thought to have been transmitted from rodent and flea bites (Clark). In the 1300’s, when ships would bring cargo, there would be an