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What exactly was the Black Death? -

The Black Death was the deadliest pandemic ever recorded. It signaled the start of the Second Pandemic, a chain of tragic outbreaks that occurred from the 1300s to the early 1800s. Yersinia pestis or Y. pestis, a bacterium, was responsible for this bubonic plague.

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Fleas -

According to a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), recent research suggests that the rapid dissemination of the bacterium may have been caused by human ectoparasites, such as body lice and human fleas.

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Black rat -

According to the PNAS study, there is a contradiction to the commonly held belief that black rats and their fleas were the sole transmitters of the disease. Experts generally agree that the pandemic was most likely spread by the fleas living on black rats, with the rats serving as reservoir hosts. But where did the Black Death originate?

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Origins of the Black Death -

The Black Death likely started in East Asia, possibly emerging in Mongolia around 1346. It arrived in Crimea in 1347, carried by rats on Genoese merchant ships that traveled across the Black Sea. This inverted map, featured in the Catalan Atlas published in 1375, shows the region including Egypt, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and the Black Sea, where the disease spread.

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Outbreak -

Several ships left Crimea for different European destinations. A vessel reached Constantinople, where more than 90% of the city's inhabitants eventually fell victim to the plague. The rapid decline of the population supports a controversial PNAS study, which suggests that fleas and lice became carriers of the plague after biting an infected individual, and then could potentially transmit the disease to another person in close proximity.

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Outbreak in Italy -

In 1347, a different ship arrived in Sicily, with its crew barely surviving. The sickness quickly spread across the whole island. People fleeing from Sicily carried the disease to mainland Italy, where by the summer of the next year, one third of the population had died. The image shows a plague-infected person being transported by stretcher-bearers wearing masks to protect themselves from the disease, in Florence.

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The arrival of the Black Death in France -

More ships unintentionally became carriers of the disease across oceans. In 1347, a ship expelled from Italy reached Marseille, where the crowded port facilitated the disease's rapid transmission. The Black Death quickly spread across France, lingering until 1352. In Paris alone, around 80,000 people—around one third of the population—succumbed to the outbreak.

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Anti-semitism increases -

By mid-1348, as the Black Death continued to wreak havoc, many people were looking for scapegoats. This led to a wave of anti-Semitic violence across Europe, with Jewish communities being targeted. In plague-stricken Provence, several dozen Jews were falsely accused of spreading the disease and tragically murdered. This grim scenario was repeated across Europe as the pandemic worsened, further fueling fear and prejudice.

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Iberia affected -

In the spring of 1348, Spain and Portugal were both affected by the arrival of the Black Death, resulting in fatalities.

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Initial meeting in England -

In June 1348, the Black Death continued its deadly rampage on humanity as it arrived in Weymouth, England. The disease had been transported by ship from Gascony, located in southwestern France, and by autumn, it had spread to London. By summer 1349, the entire country was engulfed in the plague, resulting in the loss of up to 60% of the population.

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The Holy Roman Empire is struck by plague -

The plague extended its reach from England, moving north to Scotland and eastward, crossing the North Sea to reach the Holy Roman Empire by early 1349, initially affecting certain areas in Belgium and the Netherlands.

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Self-flagellation movement -

The plague gave rise to the Flagellant movement, driven by the belief that the Black Death was a divine punishment. Lacking understanding of the disease's biology, people resorted to extreme measures. Members of the movement, religious zealots often fueled by anti-Semitism, practiced self-flagellation, whipping themselves to invoke God's mercy and avoid a slow, painful death. Pictured is the Belgium town of Tournai in 1349 where a group engaged in self-scourging while walking through the streets.

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Germany affected -

The plague entered southern Germany from Switzerland during the summer of 1349. By autumn, a significant portion of the country was affected. In an attempt to assign responsibility for their misfortune, the people once again accused the Jews.

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Plague and persecutions persist -

The initial attack targeting the Jewish community in Cologne happened in 1349. They were wrongly accused of causing the spread of the plague and poisoning the water supply. The response was ruthless and immediate, resulting in the arrest and execution of hundreds of individuals. Similarly, in Strasbourg, around 2,000 Jewish inhabitants faced a comparable tragedy.

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Scandinavia surrenders -

In 1349, an English ship unintentionally brought Yersinia pestis to Norway when it became stranded in Bergen. The crew perished, infecting the locals. The disease quickly spread to Denmark and Sweden.

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Deaths in Austria -

In May 1349, the city of Vienna was struck by the plague, leading to the death of approximately one third of its inhabitants by the end of the year. Similar to previous instances, the Jewish community was unjustly blamed for spreading the disease by contaminating water wells. Consequently, numerous individuals were apprehended, subjected to torture, and ultimately executed.

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The bacteria expands outside Europe -

By 1349, the Black Death had spread throughout Europe, infecting most of the continent. However, the merciless bacteria continued to advance, reaching different parts of the Middle East and North Africa by 1350. The bacterium, known as  Yersinia pestis even managed to engulf Mecca, the city infected by pilgrims performing the Hajj.

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Symptoms -

During the 14th century, being infected by Yersinia pestis meant certain death. A cure did not exist. One of the main symptoms of bubonic plague was the excruciating swelling of lymph glands, which resulted in the formation of pus-filled boils known as buboes (the origin of the term "bubonic").

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Suffering the Black Death -

The bubonic plague also leads to fever, tiredness, shaking, headaches, and dizziness. As the illness progresses, patients also experience bleeding, coughing up blood, vomiting, and confusion. Seven centuries ago, the suffering and anguish felt would have been absolutely overwhelming.

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Eyewitness testimony -

In his journal, Italian writer and poet Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) vividly described the symptoms of the plague as "the emergence of gavoccioli [buboes)] in the groin or armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg." He later observed that "the said deadly gavoccioli began to spread indiscriminately over every part of the body; then, after this, the symptoms of the illness changed to black or livid spots appearing on the arms and thighs, and on every part of the body."

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Rough treatments -

During the 14th century, doctors used primitive and unhygienic methods like bloodletting and boil-lancing to treat people affected by the plague. They would also resort to superstitious customs such as burning fragrant herbs or bathing in rosewater or vinegar, all in hopes of relieving the patients' pain.

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Praying for relief -

Unfortunately, in many cases, individuals afflicted with the illness only had one choice remaining: to seek solace through prayer. Unluckily, it was a grim reality that 80% of those who were infected with the bubonic plague would pass away in a mere eight days.

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Burying the dead -

During the Black Death, burying the dead became a grim and risky task. Fearing the highly contagious disease, victims were often buried in mass unmarked graves or "plague pits," regardless of age or gender. The hurried and undignified burials highlighted the disease's devastating impact, disregarding any sense of decorum.

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Final death toll -

The spread of the plague had greatly decreased by 1351 and was completely suppressed by 1353. The total number of deaths remains uncertain, but it is believed that the outbreak resulted in the loss of over 200 million lives, with 25 to 50 million of those occurring in Europe. Additionally, this tragic event led to the massacres of 210 Jewish communities throughout the continent. Medieval Europe experienced a devastating loss, with approximately 50% of its population perishing.

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Consequences -

After the pandemic, Europe and the world faced major social changes. Western Europe's population didn't recover to pre-1348 levels until the early 16th century. Ironically, the plague had a silver lining for some: the reduced workforce created a high demand for labor, leading to soaring wages due to the shortage of workers. [Image: Museo del Prado]

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Religious fervor persists -

The renewed religious fervor and fanaticism that spread throughout the continent after the pandemic was not well received. A considerable number of people believed in supernatural forces and malicious conspiracies as explanations for the Black Death. These unfounded ideas persisted until scientific and medical advancements unveiled the true cause of the disastrous pandemic.

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Digging up the past -

The effects of the Black Death continue to be felt after almost 700 years. In 2010, during excavations in East Smithfield, London, a burial trench and several individual graves were discovered. These graves contained the remains of plague victims and were found between the concrete foundations of the Royal Mint.

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A burial ground from the Black Death -

During the same excavation, another grave was discovered where the victims were not simply thrown into a mass grave. Instead, they were arranged side by side, indicating that some level of respect was given to their burial and a typical burial method was followed.

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Black Death Discovery -

During the archaeological excavation, significant personal artifacts were uncovered, including a few coins from the years 1344-1351. These were found next to the remains of a woman aged between 26 and 35, who was buried in the East Smithfield cemetery during the Black Death. Though not an extensive find, it is worth noting that these items were likely left as payment for a proper burial.

Sources: (PNAS) (National Geographic), (Emerging Infectious Diseases) (History in Numbers) (World History Encyclopedia) (ScienceAlert)

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