The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, was a huge disease outbreak that happened in Europe from 1347 to 1351. It killed a lot of people, about one-third to two-thirds of the population. But some good things came out of it too. It made people more educated and improved working conditions. Here are 13 facts about the Black Death.
Bubonic plague has been around for a long time.
Archaeologists found it in skeletons from the Bronze Age in Russia, showing it’s been around for thousands of years. The first recorded big outbreak was in the 6th century CE, known as the Justinianic Plague, during the time of Byzantine emperor Justinian. The plague that hit in the 14th century, called the Black Death, was the second big outbreak.
Bubonic plague is a zoonotic disease.
Bubonic plague is a disease that spreads between animals and humans. It’s caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which infects rats and other small animals. Fleas that bite these infected animals can carry the bacteria and pass it to humans and other animals when they bite again.
Bubonic plague is named after one of its primary symptoms.
One of the first signs of plague is swollen and painful lymph nodes in the neck, groin, and armpit, called “buboes.” As the sickness gets worse, people might have a headache, throw up, and have a high fever. Their buboes might also release blood and pus. Back in medieval times, there wasn’t any effective treatment, and most people with plague would die within a week. But today, antibiotics can cure plague.
The Black Death originated in central Eurasia.
The outbreaks of illness that caused the Black Death started in central Eurasia. In the 1340s, the plague spread through India, Syria, Persia, and Egypt, destroying communities along the way, before it arrived in Europe in 1347.
The Black Death was used as a biological weapon.
In 1347, during a siege of Kaffa, a Genoese trading port in modern-day Crimea, the Mongol khan Janibeg faced a dilemma. His troops were weakened by the Black Death, and victory seemed unlikely. In a final act of revenge, Janibeg’s army used a trebuchet, a medieval catapult, to hurl the bodies of plague-infected soldiers into the city. The residents of Kaffa, already weakened by the siege, soon fell ill with the disease.
The Black Death probably entered Europe through Messina, Sicily.
Rats often lived near humans and hitched rides on merchant ships, spreading disease as they traveled. Folklore warned that where there were many dead rats, disease would follow. In 1347, Genoese ships carried trade goods and unintentionally brought plague-infected rats from Central Asia to Messina, Sicily. From there, the plague spread rapidly through Europe, affecting Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. It reached England by 1349 and Scandinavia by 1350. Historians believe that merchant ships played a major role in spreading the plague, especially in busy ports like Kaffa, where the disease could easily find new hosts and travel along trade routes. As a result, cities with busy ports, such as Venice and London, suffered the highest death tolls.
It was not just a peasant’s disease.
Because it spreads through fleas and rats, some people mistakenly think the Black Death only affected poor people who lived in dirty places. But it actually affected everyone, from the poorest to the wealthiest. Many important and wealthy people died from the plague, including King Edward III’s daughter Joan, Queen Eleanor of Portugal, King Alfonso XI of Castile, and two archbishops of Canterbury, John de Stratford and Thomas Bradwardine, as well as the philosopher William of Ockham.
Quarantine was introduced during the Black Death.
Back in the Middle Ages, people didn’t know about germs, but they understood that the Black Death could spread from one person to another. To stop the disease from spreading, officials made rules. They sent plague doctors to towns to help sick families. They also made ships wait for 30 days before letting sailors come ashore. This rule started in Venice in 1347 and worked well. They later made ships wait for 40 days, which is where the word “quarantine” comes from—it’s based on the Italian and Latin words for “forty.”
The Black Death came in waves.
The Black Death started in Europe in 1347 and lasted until 1351, but it didn’t stop there. It came back multiple times over the next 50 years, and also in the 17th century, hitting London hard in 1665–66. Another big plague hit China in the mid-19th century, spreading to other countries and killing millions, especially in India.
The Black Death wasn’t all bad.
Despite the huge number of deaths, around 60% of Europe’s population, the Black Death brought about some good changes. The shortage of workers after the disease led to higher wages and better conditions for peasants who worked the land. It also pushed for the development of new technologies to save labor, like smaller, faster boats. These boats needed fewer crew members, which helped exploration of Asia and the Americas.
Additionally, because many monks who copied books died, societies needed new ways to make and share books. This led to the invention of the printing press, which helped spread ideas more quickly.
