The Black Death : The Greatest Catastrophe Ever

1756 Words4 Pages

Morgan Woods
Sonja Martinez
English IV, 4th hour
23 March 2016
The Black Death
The Black Death was known as the greatest catastrophe ever. It killed 50 million people in the 14th century or 60 percent of Europe 's population. Yersinia pestis is a disease among rats that were on ships that were on a highly traveled trading routes, which is why this disease spread so quickly. Medieval Europe was extremely over populated until the biggest plague swept in and killed millions of people, which allowed for change in society and stronger economic growth.
The beginning of the Black Death can be traced back to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the 1320s. The cause of this terrible plague is still unknown. From the dessert it spread in all directions, but most of its destruction started in China. But what most people don’t know is that Europe actually had already felt a blow from the same plague earlier in the 6th century. The cycles of the seasons corresponded to cycles of infection. As winter approached, colder temperatures killed fleas, which gave false hope for the people alive, thinking that it was over. Then taken by surprise with new outbreaks in new areas as temperatures began to rise. (“The Black Death: The Greatest Castastrophe Ever”1).
Yersinia pestis was the disease that was in the fleas that were on rats. China was one of the busiest trading throughout the nations, which had trading routes to Western Asia and Europe. These rats would go aboard the ships and then infect the nation that these ships docked on. Within days the disease would spread rapidly. After three days of fasting, hungry rat fleas would turn on humans. When the infected rats and fleas would bite someone, the bacteria would flow to the bloodstream, infecting everyt...

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