...The Black Death During the fourteenth century, Europe’s population was greatly reduced by the Black Plague. The Black Plague arrived in Europe from trading ships. Black rats carried the disease; fleas would become infected after biting the rats and then would bite humans. Transmission of the Plague was not understood, nor was ways to cure the infected. The Plague “is categorized into three specific types of plague caused by the same bacteria, yersinia pestis: - Bubonic Plague (infection in the lymph nodes, or buboes) - Pneumonic Plague (the infection in the lungs) - Septicemic Plague (the infection in the blood [also the most deadly of the three]).”(Power point) The Black Plague was so devastating that it was considered to be the first true pandemic on earth and is often called the Black Death. The areas affected by this devastating disease have different views on the diagnosis and treatment for the Black Death. One observation was that of Giovanni Boccaccio, who spent time in Florence, Italy. He believed that the Black Plague was either a punishment from God for sinning or was possibly caused by the influence of the planets. The Plague manifested differently in Florence...
Words: 1090 - Pages: 5
...The Black Plague The Black Plague was a pandemic, which reached England in June 1348-December 1349. It was later called “The Black Death” due to it killing around 50 million people. The Black Death has affected not only Europe, but other parts of the world killing many. Almost everyone feared the plague because it could possibly affect many of their lives, losing loved ones. New symbols and art were brought to the surface due to The Black Plague, such as plague doctors and even the famous song “Ring Around the Rosie”. Although there is a cure now it is still around today coming in many forms and types affecting people's daily lives. There are 3 major plagues the Justinian Plague, which was named after the 6th century Justinian emperor,...
Words: 1329 - Pages: 6
...R. Glover Professor Schmitt English 2111-45 November 27, 2012 The Black Plague The Black Plague is a disease contracted from diseased animals, mostly by fleas, to human. The Black Plague then may be contracted by humans touching or breathing on one another. This disease is highly deadly and the bacterium that causes this disease is Yersinia Pestis. The Black Plague or as many call it “The Black Death” arrived in Europe by sea October 1347 when twelve Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after traveling through the Black Sea. Europe’s communities were devastated by the amount of suffering and death the disease brought to the people. The most common characteristic of the black plague is the black boils that appear all over the human body and then the boils bursts open with the blood oozing out black. The black blood that oozes out is why people call it the black plague. The symptoms of the disease can progress to other categories of the black plague which are: septicemia plague, pneumonic plague, and bubonic plague. The Sopticemic plague is the rarest deadliest bacterial infection caused by a bacterium called Yersinia Pertis. The plague begins to destroy the human body “when the bacterium enters the bloodstream through an open wound the person is known to be infected by plague. The bacterium multiplies in the blood and results in septicemic plague. This form of plague like the other types is capable of causing disseminated intravascular...
Words: 747 - Pages: 3
...The Black Death One of the most important factors that shaped medieval literature was the Black Death. It left the country barren and desolate, without farmers to provide for the nobles, without monarchs to govern the people, and without officers of the law to prevent crimes. The Black Death crippled the European economy and hierarchy leaving the countries without people educated enough to read and most certainly not educated enough to write. Who knows what literary works would have been written had it not been for the plague and the rate at which it devastated. The Black Death caused, prevented, and interrupted many works of literature. The Black Death, a plague on humanity capable of wiping out one fourth of Europe’s one hundred million people in the course of five years, made its mark between the years 1347 and 1351 (Marks). During that time, three types of plague were to have know to exist: Bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic (Marks). Although bubonic variant of the plague took the most time to kill it was still the most deadly simply due to it being the most widespread of the three (Marks). The bubonic plague got its name from the numerous buboes or cancer like growths that would develop on the victim’s armpit and groin (Marks). Another symptom that accompanied the growths was the presence of a constant fever. The buboes were swelled lymph glands as a result of the body’s lymphatic system trying to fight the disease. Basically, they were pockets of the dead...
Words: 1298 - Pages: 6
...been three plagues in history. The Justinianic (541–750) witch afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire ( Byzantine Empire) One high estimate is that the Plague of Justinian killed as many as 25 million people across the known world. The Black Death of the 1340s was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe in the years 1346–53. The term "Black Death" is recent. During the plague, it was called "the Great Mortality" or "the Pestilence. The pathogen is believed to have travelled overland from China towards Europe in the 6th century. It affected mostly rodents in its infancy. Their fleas transferred the disease to people, and once in the human population, it spread rapidly. Spreading...
Words: 877 - Pages: 4
...The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in history. Spreading via rat fleas, the bacteria Yersinia Pestis infected millions of humans and lead to a world-wide panic. The combination of bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague created this fatal disease. Its deadly symptoms and high mortality rate greatly afflicted countries worldwide. In a span of about seven years, 1346-1353, it was able to kill off about sixty percent of the European population. The disease originated in Asia,...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
...Yersinia Pesitis – The Plague Yersinia pestis is a highly infectious, Gram negative bacillus that is transmitted to humans usually through the bite of infected fleas. [1]. Yersinia pestis reaching the respiratory tract results in pneumonic plague, which is also highly contagious due to its airborne transmission. [1]. Pneumonic plague usually causes fatality in “less than three days if no treatment is administered.” [1]. History In 1894, Alexandre Yersin described, discovered, and cultured the bacteria that causes Plague. [5]. Later, in 1894, Jean-Paul Simond discovered that transmission was due to flea bites from infected rodents. [5]. “Plague has been one of the deadliest bacterial infections in human history, causing millions of deaths...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...existence. In the span of just five short years the Bubonic Plague managed to kill nearly one-third of Europe’s population, leaving very little answers and unclear causes to such a horrendous and aggressive plague. The most common result of the Bubonic Plague was death, killing more than eighty percent of infected individuals (Benedictow 2005). Living in a time with very little medical experience and scientific understanding, the Bubonic Plague and the middle 14th century was a recipe for disaster. The Bubonic Plague; now known to be caused by Yersinia pestis of the Bacillus species, was a devastating plague in the 14th century. The concept of a pneumatically- transmitted bacteria seemed to baffle the minds of the medieval people, leaving victims to question God and their own sanity. In untreated circumstances, the mortality rate of the Bubonic plague is more than of 50%, while in treated cases the mortality rate is under 15% (The Plague 2014). Since the lack of medical knowledge in this time, typically medical treatment could make the patient more susceptible to infection and even more susceptible to the Bubonic Plague’s more...
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...the beginning of documented history, it has been noted on many occasions that pandemics have swept the world claiming the lives of millions. Among them are the Antonine Plague, HIV/AIDS, and the Black Death. While the Bubonic plague has occurred many times throughout the world’s history, the Black Death was a devastating epidemic that occurred in the late fourteenth century that spread to all areas of Europe. In totality, it caused the deaths of more than fifty million people. The devastation caused by the Black Death resulted in a total restructuring of everyday life in fourteenth century Europe. The Black Death was a disease that first originated in China in the early 1330’s. Over a period of ten years, the disease had killed more than...
Words: 1944 - Pages: 8
...ESSAY TOPIC: Plague, is it still a threat? History Aetiologgy and treatment Plague in the modern world Abstract The plague is a communicable disease, having a high mortality rate without treatment. There are three huge pandemics in history with millions of deaths occurring. The first pandemic occurred around the year 541AD and was called “plague of Justinian”, the second pandemic “Black Death” occurred in 14th century, and the third epidemic resulted in China around the 1860s. There are three main types of plague such as bubonic plague, septicaemic plague and primary pneumonic plague, with each type of the plague; the antibiotics are the most important method of treatment for plague currently. The Yersinia pestis, as the causative agent of plague, is a Gram-negative bacillus in the bacterial family. This disease is transmitted by the biting of fleas, which occur in some animals such as the rats, rabbits and dogs. Early detection, reporting, isolating and early treatment are very important in preventing huge scales of the plague’s happening. People should take more precautions to prevent plague from infection. Today, this infectious disease is still a threat for people around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and South American countries. “Plague or its cause, Y. pestis, has been used by humans as a weapon (bioterrorist weapon) against other humans for centuries, including this current time”(Nettleman, 2012). The plague is an infectious bacterial disease, caused...
Words: 1644 - Pages: 7
...Christian and Muslim responses to The Black Death were different in many ways. The Plague or The Black Death was a combination of three plagues, bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Bubonic was the most common, the symptoms were chills , high fever, delirium, vomiting, and rapid heartbeat. the infected person would then develop buboes, inflamed swellings filled with pus. Pneumonic plague was less common, but was the deadliest, it infected the respiratory system,it would kill most of its victims in hours. Septicemic plague affected the bloodstream, it killed all of its victims. No matter what plague it was, it would result in terrible death. Christianity started with Jesus Christ in the Common Era. Christ was a Jew from Judea, which today is...
Words: 539 - Pages: 3
...The Black Plague “The Renaissance Death of England” Jayne Ritzinger GS102 – Introduction of Life Science September 2, 2009 The Black Plague in a Medieval Perspective “The Renaissance Death of England” The Sixteenth Century and Bubonic Plague The year is 1350 and death has travelled Western Asia and Europe for a decade. The death rate has exceeded 10 million due to the Black Plague, which is the curse of Europe (Bollinger, 1983). Travelling by boat and carriage, the Black Death has infected the known world from Constantinople to London. “The first attack, known since the late sixteenth century as the Black Death but to contemporaries as “the great mortality”, occurred in southern England in 1348; by the end of 1349 it had spread to Central Scotland” (Morgan, 1984). Rats and the lice that traveled on them were the common cause, but the Sixteenth Century had no such mechanism to identify the causation of the plague “Plague is characterized by periodic disease outbreaks in rodent populations, some of which have a high death rate. During these outbreaks, hungry infected fleas that have lost their normal hosts seek other sources of blood, thus escalating the increased risk to humans and other animals frequenting the area” (Plague, 2009). As defined by the Center for Disease Control, the Black Plague is defined as follows: Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by a bacterium named Yersinia Pestis. Epidemics of plague in humans usually involve house rats...
Words: 1817 - Pages: 8
...History of Black Death The Black Death – How the Black Death received its name The Black Death was so named due to its physical manifestation and its affect on society. The total number of deaths attributable to this devastating pandemic was 75 million people. The Black Death was characterized by painful swelling in the lymph nodes known as buboes so it was generally considered to be an outbreak of the bubonic plague. It was caused by the organism,Yersinia pestis which was carried about from the bodies of black rats by fleas. Victims of the disease were covered with dark blotches due to damage to the underlying skin and tissue. This medical phenomenon known as acral necrosis or subdural hemorrhages gave rise to the term black death. The...
Words: 924 - Pages: 4
...How the Black Death Affected the Modern World The Black Death is the worst plague that mankind has ever had to face, much worse than anything we face today. The mortality rate was astounding; whoever was unfortunate enough to become infected with the Black Death would die in a matter of days while suffering through a great deal of pain and agony (Snell). Its peak was around 1348-1353 in Europe, ranging from England all the way to Eastern Europe and beyond (The Black Death, 1348, 2001). The Black Death is thought to have started in China or central Asia, before spreading west. The plague then travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1347. From there, it was probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population. All in all, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century (Ibeji, 2011). The plague disease, generally thought to be caused by Yersinia pestis, is commonly present in populations of fleas carried by ground rodents, including marmots, in various areas including Central Asia, Kurdistan, Western Asia, Northern India and Uganda (Edmonds). Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe at the trading city of Caffa in the Crimea in 1347 (Whipps, 2008). After a protracted siege, during which the Mongol...
Words: 1928 - Pages: 8
...Christian’s and Muslim’s responses to the plague were different because they were treated differently. In five short years the plague killed between twenty-five percent and forty-five percent of the population. The Black Death was a combination of three types of plagues from three different bacterial strains. Such as bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Some doctors weren’t sure what was really going on, the bacteria and viruses were unknown. Christians and Muslims were different as in beliefs and what they actually did. Christians had a ''golden rule'' referred as ''do unto others as you would have one unto you''. Christ was crucified on a cross which now is the symbol for Christianity. Mohammed's teaching was similar to Christ', you should...
Words: 474 - Pages: 2
