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E World Pandemic disease: Influenza of 1918-1920
E World Pandemic disease: Influenza of 1918-1920
The black plague in Elizabethan England
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Swollen bodies and red crosses were the most common sites seen by Londoners in the year of 1665. The bitter and gloomy city of London encountered its last major deadly disease in that year. The bubonic plague hit the great city of London in 1665 and killed most of London’s population. The return of the bubonic plague wreaked havoc in the well-known city. The Great Plague of London was a deadly disease that took the lives of about 100,000 which caused the Londoners to have Bills of Mortality to keep track of the weekly death rates, and the disease also inspired poetry and diaries to be written. The deadly plague broke out in the spring of 1665. It is believed that the bubonic plague spread at a quick pace because of the hot summers in London,
The Black Death (also called the "plague" or the "pestilence", the bacteria that causes it is Yersinia Pestis) was a devastating pandemic causing the death of over one-third of Europe's population in its major wave of 1348-1349. Yersinia Pestis had two major strains: the first, the Bubonic form, was carried by fleas on rodents and caused swelling of the lymph nodes, or "buboes", and lesions under the skin, with a fifty-percent mortality rate; the second, the pneumonic form, was airborne after the bacteria had mutated and caused fluids to build up in the lungs and other areas, causing suffocation and a seventy-percent mortality rate.
One of the largest epidemic events in history, the Bubonic Plague had a devastating effect on European society. It is believed to have begun in China, and it reached European soil in 1347, when it struck Constantinople (Document 1). It was carried by infected fleas that spread the disease between humans and rats. A symptom of the plague was the development of large, dark swellings called “buboes” on the victim’s lymph nodes. By the time the plague left, Europe’s population had been reduced by almost half. The devastation as a result of the plague may seem shocking, but there were several important factors that contributed to its deadliness.
Kira L. S. Newman, “Shutt Up: Bubonic Plague and Quarantine in Early Modern England,” Journal of Social History, 3, (2012): 809-834
Before the Black Plague, living in Britain was interesting and positive but, was not always pleasant. It was too crowded and dirty, Britain was disgusting and unsanitary for the citizens for a long period of time, even before the disease spread to Europe (Ibeji n.pag.). Thus, Britain being so dirty, it was easier for this disease to spread. The citizens of Europe had no clue what was coming to disease them. Many people were not ready for the cultural changes of the disease and were shocked the disease even reached their towns.
Is it little by surprise that the plague was the most dreaded disease in the Elizabethan era. Death is a terrible thing, especially when a person is getting executed. People died of many diseases in that era. Such as blood poisoning, and the bubonic plague which refers back to black death. It was a very violent disease to get, it was very contagious. The most dreadful punishments in this era were getting hung which lead into executions (Linda Alcin 1) .After you are half dead from getting hung they take you and cut you into squares and hang you up around the city of England .
The bubonic plague in the 14th century was known to be one of the most horrendous events that took place in Europe. A common name for this time period was the ‘Black Death’, however this term was not coined until the 17th century. The Black Death claimed an estimated 75 to 200 million people’s lives in all of Europe.
In the 1300’s, England was struck with a plague called the Bubonic Plague, better known as the “Black Death.” Historians believe this disease arrived by ship at a seaport in modern day Ukraine (Byrne 1). Fleas living on the back of rats were the main cause of spreading. Because of the poor living conditions, rats were very common in towns, making it simple for fleas to bite the human, giving them the disease. Symptoms were easily spotted; the victim would have lumps on his or her groin and armpits, which would then turn to black spots on the arms and thighs (Trueman 1). 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. Once the Bubonic Plague died out, it only had two...
The Plague (French, La Peste) is a novel written by Albert Camus that is about an epidemic of bubonic plague. The Plague is set in a small Mediterranean town in North Africa called Oran. Dr. Bernard Rieux, one of the main characters, describes it as an ugly town. Oran’s inhabitants are boring people who appear to live, for the most part, habitual lives. The main focus of the town is money. “…everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, 'doing business’” (Camus 4). The citizens’ unawareness of life’s riches and pleasures show their susceptibility to the oncoming plague. They don’t bother themselves with matters not involving money. It is very easy for the reader to realize that they are too naive to combat the forthcoming calamity. The theme of not knowing life is more than work and habits will narrow the people’s chances of survival. Rieux explains that the town had a view of death as something that happens every day. He then explains that the town really doesn’t face towards the Mediterranean Sea. Actually it is almost impossible to see the sea from town. Oran is a town which seems to turn its back on life and freedom. The Plague was first published in 1948 in France. “Early readers were quick to note that it was in part an allegory of the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, which cut France off from the outside world; just as in the novel the town of Oran must close its gates to isolate the plague” (“The Plague” 202). When the plague first arrives, the residents are slow to realize the extreme danger they are in. Once they finally become aware of it...
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.
The Black Death plague had disastrous consequences for Europe in the 14th century. After the initial outbreak in Europe, 1347, it continued for around five years and then mysteriously disappeared. However, it broke out again in the 1360s and every few decades thereafter till around 1700. The European epidemic was an outbreak of the bubonic plague, which began in Asia and spread across trade routes. When it reached Europe, a path of destruction began to emerge.
In 1346, the second and most devastating case of Bubonic plague erupted. (Janis 1) This specific case of plague originated in Kaffa, a cathedral town on the Crimean Coast and spread to China then quickly westward to India. Soon traders from India sailed to Europe and infected almost the entire continent. (Ziegler 121) This case was the most famous because of the large number of deaths affiliated with its outbreak. An estimated twenty five million people, one third of Europe’s population, perished during the plague’s four years of existence. (Janis 1) Government, trade, and commerce in Europe almost came to a halt. The Black Death caused the depopulation of about 1,000 villages in England. (Janis 2) In one case, in Alexandria, Egypt, the first two weeks of the plague 100-200 people died each day. Soon after, as many as 2,000 people died each day and the number increased each week. During this time, the Roman Catholic Church lost some influence on its people.
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, is a raging disease. Most people think of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot. The disease spreads through a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis.
When the plague hit Alexandrea during the spring of 1348, it affected them so much that almost a thousand people were dying each day (Knox). For Florence, their population was greatly reduced, almost ⅓ of the population had died within the first 6 months of infection (The Black Death: Horseman of the Apocalypse in the Fourteenth Century). The Black Death caused mass deaths of merchants and skilled artists, as well as their customers (Woodville). Compared to the other populations of different regions, some villages in Germany were desolate, but some villages didn't even have a single death (The Black Death: Horseman of the Apocalypse in the Fourteenth Century). Every week, each London parish recorded the number of people who died. They were added up and posted onto a mortality board in lists (Museum of London). On this mortality bill, the highest record was on September with a casualty rate of 7,165 people (Museum of London). Versus the rising population of 460,000 and an average of 8,000 deaths each week, the plague definitely took its toll. Within several months, 100,000 Londoners had died (Museum of
Daniel Defoe’s, A Journal of the Plague Year, was written in 1722 and published in 2001. Although written by Defoe, this story is narrated by H.F., a Londoner who lived through the devastating mayhems during the bubonic plague that disturbed England in 1664-1665. The Journal tells us what H.M. experienced at the time of the plague. The story begins with H.M. believing that the plague has returned to Holland due to the death rate and the number of parishes infected. However, it is currently winter at this time, and it seems that the cold weather has swayed off the worst of the plague. When May and June come around, the plague has yet again resumed and the number of deaths increase dramatically. It is at this point where H.M. questions if he should stay or leave the city. Due to H.M.’s strong affiliation with God, he decides to stay. H.M. notes how the deprived are basically being forced to stay and witnesses how fearful they are of the impending plague while the rich are leaving with no difficulties. City bureaucrats attempt to be alert regarding the plague and publish a set of procedures, called the “Orders of the Lord Mayor and Alderman of the City of London,” which are mainly regulations that state how infected houses will be “shut up” which means people will be forced to remain in that house, houses will be guarded, and if people were to assemble in large groups, those will be shut down. H.M. depicts many in depth ways of how people were affected by the plague. Some of these behaviors include people having psychological complications, people desperately trying to survive by escaping the city, the sorrow of watching men trying to hopelessly support their families, and more. The people affected by the plague...
Though they were not wanted, “Fires were not uncommon in seventeenth-century London” (Cowie, 59). Fires weren’t the only things that London residents worried about though. In 1665 a tragedy known as the Black Plague had occurred and killed many people in the city and though the plague was gone “People continued to fear another outbreak of plague for the rest of the seventeenth century” (Cowie, 56-57). The Great Fire of London was a tragedy that destroyed a whole city and scared all the people who inhabited it. Just as the city was recovering from the Great Plague, the inhabitants had to flee the city once again- this time not as a result of a disease, but the result of a human accident (“The Great Fire of London of 1666”, 1).