The Black Death: The Bubonic Plague

The Bubonic plague has been said to be a part of history since the biblical eras and has had an undeniable effect on the development of contemporary civilization Gowen, B.S. (1907). The cause of the plague is not known. However, there is religious reference of God punishing sinners causing death and destruction using this deadly disease. Throughout the years, there has been a question to be answered by historians and medical professionals. This question is: if the destructive attributes of the disease was an act of God to punish sinners or an act of nature? Today, historians believe that the existence of germs, given suitable soil conditions, mass-produced the disease.

The Black Death also known as, the Bubonic Plague was a disease that came out of the east so which first happened in China which spread across Europe in the years of 1346-53. This disease wiped out anywhere between 25% or 50% of the European population.

    The Bubonic Plague or Black Plague devastated Europe in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries killing anywhere from twenty to twenty-five million people or about one-third of the continent’s population. At the time, medical knowledge was not competent for understanding why the deadly pathogen was spreading; therefore, the plague radiated like wildfire. The Europeans believed that the plague was a sort of divine punishment for the sins in which they had committed, and they had no idea there was a scientific explanation for the epidemic. Among the masses affected by the calamitous plague, there was a broad spectrum of responses in which the Europeans took part. Three major responses that were most apparent in the

The prevalence of disease in the thirteenth century was very common in Europe,and Africa, later on spread to parts of Asia. Currently the bubonic is not that common but is still infecting a small portion of the earth. The Bubonic Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis, a zoonotic bacteria, usually found in small animals and their fleas. It is transmitted between animals and humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact, inhalation and rarely, ingestion of infective materials.

In fourteenth century Europe, the main object of the people's’ fears was the Bubonic Plague, more commonly know as the Black Death. They were nothing less than ecstatic when the giant outbreak of the disease had diminished, but it could not be put out completely. In 2015, nearly 15 cases were reported of the Bubonic Plague. The most recent being reported on September 14, 2015, in Marquette County, Michigan. Residents described fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes in the armpits, neck, and groin.

The Bubonic Plague was likely the first semi-global pandemic that rightfully merits the name which means affecting all people. The period of time in which the disease wreaked havoc was also known as the “Black Death." Alexandere Yersin was a French bacteriologist and discovered the bacteria in Hong Kong This diabolical disease is characterized by both positive and negative outcomes for the few people that managed to survive the plague. The total number of people who died subsequently of the disease are not known. The total number of deaths ranged from twenty to fifty million people. Many, grotesque, unpleasant characteristics are associated with the Black plague. Scientists now understand that the Black Death was spread by a bacillus known as Yersina Pestis. The dominant carrier of the disease was the "black" rat. Other rodents located in central Asia could have also contributed to the disease spreading. A French biologist discovered the germ during the nineteenth century. Recently Dr. Jahannes Krause has been able to do some "molecular fishing" and extract the remaining plague fragments, and DNA from the tooth enamel of excavated remains from the 1300 's. There are three types of the infection. The manifest through buboes (boils) with unpleasant smelling odors, and spots on the skin. Swollen, inflamed lymph nodes in the armpits and groin would appear. The lymphatic system is a major contributing factor to one 's immune system and general health condition.

The black death was one of the deadliest plagues there's been, in the mid 14th century the plague spread around the world traveling from china to Europe, this plague was responsible for the death of more than one-third of the population of Europe and the middle east. At this time there were a lot of Christians and Muslims at this time and places it affected both very badly but they reacted to the plague very differently.The black death had a lot of names some include ‘The Great Pestilence’, the great plague and the black death.in five short years this plague killed between 25 and 45 percent of population it encountered including children and women .Historians believe that the black death was caused by bacterial strains and this strains came from the stomach and certain fleas of rotten but more specifically the black rat. The black death was a combination of 3 plagues Bubonic,Pneumonic and septicemic one deadlier than the other one.

The Black Death or the Bubonic Plague, was a huge plague that killed 20-50% of the world’s population. It all started in the 14th century where a flea called the Oriental Rat Flea, they would come usually on rat’s backs and later go on to humans. The rats would give painful swellings or “buboes” on some places, like the armpit. This was very dangerous, because it also would travel to the nervous system, and which led to death. The whole process took about a week and overall was very difficult at the time to stop. The Plague took the most overall on Europe, where 20 million people would die or one-third of their population.

The black plague was one the most feared pandemics of the Middle ages. The plague was so prominent it has it’s own nursery rhyme, Ring around the rosy, that is still sung today.  Understanding this disease can only follow knowing it’s origin.

In the 14th century, a devastating plague known as the Black Death was responsible for the death of more than one-third of Europe’s population. The first recorded epidemic of the Black Death or the Bubonic Plague was in Europe during the 6th Century. The disease truly became pandemic in 1328, the medieval period of the history of the world. Bubonic plague is one of three types of bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis which can be transmitted by rodents or from the bite of a flea. Most interesting about the bubonic plague is that there have been several epidemics, although the one that killed one-third of Europe’s population is the most relevant and memorable. Because of the impact the bubonic plague had on the English society, they

The bubonic plague of the thirteen hundreds swept through Europe, claiming the lives of one-third of its ' population in merely three years. This was the most horrific epidemic the world has seen to date. Poor sanitation practices, improper burial of corpses, and insufficient systems for waste removal were important factors in allowing the plague to manifest (Byrne 31). Infected fleas and rats, brought by trade ships and the Mongols, initially brought the disease and allowed it to spread throughout Europe with immense speed and terror (The Plague). Infection brought vomiting, multi-organ failure, black boils and even blackened limbs which inspired the term "black plague" (Eastman 10). Many sought answers as to why they were being cursed with the black death and looked for ways to channel their despair. Religious zealots looked for answers outside of Roman Catholicism which created a divide in the church (Boccaccio 8). Emotional turmoil and a search for a cure led to a revolution in art and medicine that brought the world into the Renaissance. While the far-reaching black plague vanquished much of Europe, it also brought about positive changes to society.

The bubonic plague or “Black Death” is caused by the bacteria Yrsinia pestis (Y.pestis.) The disease is carried by fleas on the back of mice; once the infected mice dies the flea moves onto a human host, bites the host and infects them with the bacteria. The Black Death left a majority of the known population of the world during 1348-1349 dead with a thirty to fifty percent mortality rate. The plague not only brought death all around the population of this time but also creased a mindset in which people became numb to the death around them but scared to die and obsessed with their death and the manor in which they were treated after death.

The Black Death was a horrific epidemic that came originate from Asia to Europe in the fourteenth century. Lasting four years (1347–1351) killed anywhere from 30–60%, of Europeans that was one-third, of the populace (Welford & Bossak, 2009). Traditionally, people thought it may have been a mixture of the bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic plague called Black Death (Martin, 2014). The disease carried by fleas sucking on the poisonous blood of rodents. The disease was airborne; transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected tissue.

The Bubonic Plague, often called the Black Death, is the name given to a deadly plague that was spreading during the Fourteenth Century. The plague spread through China, Europe, as well as western parts of Asia. It got its name from the painful swellings in lymph nodes, called buboes, which appeared on those infected with the plague. There was no cure for the disease, only treatments for the symptoms. This allowed for a rapid, massive spread of the disease. The plague reduced the world’s population from an estimated 450 million to about 350-375 million. The Bubonic Plague is most commonly known for its medical affects and the number of deaths it caused. However, it also had a huge impact, both positive and negative, on the economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of life.

The Black death was a tragic epidemic that affected much of Europe and Asia in the 14th century. Ships that were infested with rats and fleas would travel all over different countries for trade. The rodents would carry a certain bacteria called “Yersinia Pestis”. Fleas bit rats and then carried the bacteria in their system. They would then feed on humans and that was how the Black Death was created and spread. People that got bitten had a variety of lethal symptoms such as fever, weakness, abdominal pain, chills, shock, and eventually death. It was named the Black Death due to the fact that bleeding of tissues caused people to have dark patches all over their skin. Many people believed this was God’s way of punishing them for committing sins. 75-200 million people died because of this disease.