...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
...Black Death The Black Plague is known as one of the worst pandemics in human history. The plague originated in China and Central Asia which then spread westward into Europe. It is said that disease spread through fleas and rats that lived on ships and along trading routes. The black death killed millions of people from China, to India and even as far as North Africa. Eventually. infected traders from Italy introduced the plague into Europe which in turn spread quickly to France, Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, Russia and Scandinavia. In the 14th century, at least 75 million people on three continents perished due to the painful, highly contagious disease. The main transition of the disease was said to be from fleas that were carried by rats. Trading ships and trading routes allowed the rodents to spread the plague quicker as they passed through countries. The rats would eventually die from the flea bites and the bacteria, but the fleas would survive and move onto other animals and even humans. When a person is infected, they would suffer from fever, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Also swelling would occur and dark rashes appeared on the groin, legs, armpits and neck. The black death was also called the Pneumonic Plague, because it affected the lungs which then caused the disease to be spread through the air by cough and sneeze. The plague spread quickly due to overpopulated and unsanitary cities. There was no proper treatment so most people died within a week after...
Words: 283 - Pages: 2
...this letter so just to let you know it is the year 1347. I am living in the great city of Sienna, Italy with my dear husband and my two young children. My life isn’t going so well right now it’s falling apart, all due to the outbreak of the black plague. I bet you have already come across it because it’s spreading without stop from city to city, but if you haven’t yet let me inform you that it’s the most horrifying thing I have ever experienced in all my life. This disease has killed millions of people including my neighbors, relatives, and my loved ones, no one is safe. The black plague starts off with painful swelling and almost tumor like lumps on your body called buboes usually located in your groin and underarms and can be as large as the size of an egg. Next you will start vomiting and have an extremely high fever and you will start seeing dark blotches all over your body caused by bleeding under your skin. If you haven’t passed away yet the disease will attack your nervous system and create you to have excruciating painful spasms. Lastly the buboes will pop and there will be black liquid discharge from it. All in all most victims suffer a painful death; it is just so depressing to see your whole city perish this way. The black plague had such a major impact on the world, it affected it socially, religiously, and it even affected the economy. It affected the world socially for many reasons the most obvious being the population shortage. About 50-70% of people died in cities...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...a disease could wipe a population from the map. Today, american society has medicine and cures for diseases. The Black Death arrived in Europe in 1347. According to Michele da Piazza, twelve Genoese ships were decked in the Messina port and it is alleged that their sailors spread it to European citizens. The ill men then moved to major porting docks in Italy, Spain, and France. While they were not in their ships, they traveled through Switzerland, Austria, England, and Denmark. Though, it is believed that the plague originated in Africa and moved to Europe through trade routes. During the time, people did not refer to this disease as the “Black Death.” Instead, they called it “pestilence,” “plague,” or “great mortality (2007, pp....
Words: 589 - Pages: 3
...The Plague, or also known as the Black Death is one of the universes greatest tragedies in mankind’s history. This petrifying illness ended the lives of more than 200 million individuals . The previously mentioned life threatening ailment was caused by house rats and ship rats that were becoming contaminated by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. This contamination would cause influenza like symptoms to the specific person. Today the appalling sickness can be treated if it is acted on immediately. This irresistible infection is as yet an issue today be that as it may, extremely uncommon. The epidemic initially began in Europe in AD 1346. The expression “Black Death” is what it was recently named. It got this title due to the black patches...
Words: 625 - Pages: 3
...The Black Plague was a major event in medieval times. In 542 a.d the plague affects the urban areas of the mediterranean basin. It was caused by rats carrying fleas. The black plague wiped out ⅓ of the population in medieval Europe. The black plague was a serious killer with no cure people relied on praying. The first muslim siege of Constantinople was a major event in medieval times.The man who led this was Caliph Mu'awiya. Caliph emerged as ruler as a civil war happened in 661.The war lasted 4 years and eventually the muslims signed a peace treaty and another Muslim civil war. Battle of Hastings was a battle between the french and english. A man named Duke William of Normandy fought against King Harold Godwinson of England. This war was caused the need to expand empire. Eventually Duke William of Normandy won....
Words: 277 - Pages: 2
...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
...“No tenant came from West Thickley because they are all dead”. This account, by the Bishop of Durham, is one of the many that portrays the horror spread by the Black Death. The plague, which arrived on European shores in 1348 and wiped out a third of the population, is caused by the transmittance of a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. Although this pandemic of bubonic plague incited much chaos within the medieval medical community and caused the quality of healthcare to decline, it served to promote the medical innovations that set in motion the development of medicine. The Black Death forced doctors to change their perception of medicine by broadening their medical horizon and expanding their viewpoint. At first, due to the doctors’ false...
Words: 972 - Pages: 4
...THE BLACK DEATH The Black Death was a devastating plague that killed millions of people. The Black Death was a terrible disease that struck multiple places in three waves. The plague decreased the world population from an estimated amount of 450 million to 350–375 million in the 14th centuries. The Black Death killed so many people it changed history itself. The middle ages people called the disaster of the 14th century either the "Great Pestilence Plague"' or the "Great Pestilence ". But writers referred to the plague the "Great Mortality". Swedish and Danish people described the plague as “Black” for the first time late on, because the victim’s skin will turn Black. Commonly and from its effects, finally, they called it the Black Death because it killed many people. The name spread through Scandinavia first, and then through Germany. In England, the name was not known until 1823, which was when the medieval epidemic was first called the Black Death....
Words: 1498 - Pages: 6
...Back in the 14th century many plagues have long before spread through Europe and were very drastic, but all of those plagues combined was even more fatal and horrendous, this mix was known as the Black Death. The year 1346 was the start of this horrible disease, but how did this all start and what really happened to many Europeans during that time? The plague spread from Cairo to Paris, little was known about medicine and treatments for it. Since at the time, it seemed untreatable it spread like a wild fire. The cause of this was found in a bacterial strain that was found on stomach of fleas, which contributed the disease to rodents, especially the black rat. The flies go from host to host when the host dies, thus was making it possible for...
Words: 416 - Pages: 2
...The first evidence of the plague hitting Europe was at Sicilian port of Messina in Italy after a long voyage was taken place from the Black Sea. Many of the sailors boarding the ships were either found dead or ill from a mysterious cause that was unknown and therefore spreading the plague. This impacted the European society and lifestyle in that the economy and population were declining rapidly in just a few years. Several people during this time turned to their religious beliefs and blamed themselves because they believed God was punishing them for their sins. This leads to the question: “How significant was the belief in the Catholic faith during the Black Plague in Medieval Italy and what impact on society did this have?” To this day, the Black Plague is an event that can be interpreted in many ways. By investigating the event through the religious view, it challenges the views of...
Words: 909 - Pages: 4
...During the 1300s, a plague referred to The Black Death wiped out one third of Europe population. The Black Death was one of the largest wipe-outs in the world. After historians traced this plague, they discovered it began in the far East stucking China, Persia, Syria and Egypt first in 1340. Soon after, this deadly plague traveled its' way northwest when it arrived by sea in the mid 1300s. The 12 trading ships delivered the Black Death onto the dock at the Sicilian port of Messina which was soon discovered as one of the deadliest plague of all time. Not to mention The Plague of Justinian which killed a mere of 50 million people. Furthermore, after the Sicilians authorities discovered the origin of the reason for the deaths, they demanded that...
Words: 672 - Pages: 3
...In the year of the Lord 1348 there was a very great plague in the city and district of Florence. As I walk the streets of my once beautiful city all I can see is people crying and asking God why this could happen to them. The city that I live in has been infected by the black plague, and no one could do anything about it. When I first heard of the black plague I only thought it was a myth just to scare children so they would mind their parents. As of now I am a firm believer of it so far it has infected half of my town and over 25% of the people that live here have already passed away. The black plague has probably been studied by a doctor but the doctor took ill and passed away from the plague. So any research that the doctor came up...
Words: 496 - Pages: 2
...The Black Death was a widespread epidemic, in the Middle Ages, that was caused by bubonic plague. Bubonic plague was a disease that spread through fleas and rats. The Black Death affected Italy around 1347, and it quickly reached Spain and France. From Spain and France, it spread to the rest of Europe. In the 1300s the Black Death spread to China killing an estimated amount of 35 million people. It condemned one in three people to death, and the death rate was worse than that of any war in history. Symptoms of the plague included but were not limited to: black boils covering the body (specifically under the arms), high fevers, and vomiting. Economically the Black Death caused inflation, the revolt of the citizens due to fear, and normal life...
Words: 602 - Pages: 3
...The microbe that I have chosen to study is Yersinia pestis, the causative organism of the black plague. The genus Yersinia is a part of the family Enterobacteriaceae. 3 of the species in this family are pathogenic; Yersinia pestis, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Yersinia pestis is a gram-negative bacteria, it is nonmotile, and does not form endospores. It is a coccobacillus that displays unusual bipolar staining. The optimal growth temperature of Yersinia pestis is 28° to 30°C. Yersinia pestis is also considered a facultative anaerobe, and grows at pH ranging from 5 to 9.6, although it’s optimum pH is 7.2 to 7.6. Yersinia pestis has 4,744,671 base pairs on its chromosome, making it a large bacterium. The virulence factors for Yersinia pestis are unique, including YadA (Yersinia adherence protein.) YadA allows the attachment to host cells and activation of Complement. Also, at conditions at or above 37° C, Yersinia pestis becomes resistant to phagocytosis, making the human body a perfect reservoir for growth...
Words: 591 - Pages: 3
