Ring-a-ring o' Roses, Pocket Full of Posies: The Bubonic Plague

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The plague, caused by an infectious fever, has a gruesome and terrible story. This disease was the cause of the Black Death, which killed one third of Europe’s population in the 14th century, and killed around 75,000-100,000 citizens in London. Over 25 million citizens died during this time, leaving both an economic and political management in desperate times. The plague that affected European cities has been considered to be one of the worst epidemics in the Medieval Time.
From 1347 to 1350, the Black Death hit Northern Europe. Although, this was not the first time this type of disease was record. The plague was documented to have affected North Africa and the Middle East during the Classical Time. There are several speculations that this certain type of virus had been the cause of other epidemics, such “the pestilence described as striking the Philistines in the biblical book of 1 Samuel” (plague 9) although this is not verified. When it hit Europe in the 14th century, the main cause was black rats and fleas that carried the virus, as well as the disease being spread by poor sanitary. During this time period, about “one-fourth to one-third of the total population of Europe, or 25 million persons” (plague 10) died. The infected black rats were believed to have been carried over by Central Asian trade routes, fleas are believed to have become infected by biting an already infected rat. How a person would get infected was in two ways; either, normally one was bitten by a tainted flea or rat and unfortunately, the virus could live in the host indefinitely. Once a person became infected, it wouldn’t take too long for those around them to also become infected. Not only was the plague spread by rats and fleas, but the disease was insa...

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...tury, they weren't as devastating as the one in the 14th century. Millions lost their lives, family members, and even a peace of mind because of a plague. The impact of the plague was devastating. But thankfully with a creation of the vaccine, there should never be another outbreak of the Black Death again.

Works Cited

Carmichael, Ann. "Plague." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 490-493. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

"The Black Death." World Eras. Ed. Norman J. Wilson. Vol. 1: European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 435-438. Gale Power Search. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

"plague." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014

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