The Black Death

The Black Death was a pandemic that spread throughout

Europe and other places around that area. It is said to
have been the inspiration of the nursery rhyme Ring
around the Rosy.
The Black Death started around the 1320s somewhere
around East Asia and spread westward, going even as far
as Spain.
It also hit
Britain in
about 1348.
It first
stopped in
the 1350s,
but had a
second
crack and
finally
finished in
about 1405.
The Black Death is thought to be caused my Yersinia
Pestis, which is a disease that can be put into 3 different
categories: pneumonic, septicemic and bubonic.
Pneumonia is a lung infection with a Mortality Rate of
about 50%. Septicemia is blood poisoning with a
Mortality Rate of about 90%. Bubonic Plague, which is
the main disease, is similar to the flu with a Mortality
Rate of about 100%.
No one really knows how it all spread. Some people
blame the Nomadic Horsemen, while others think it was

because of environmental causes. However, most people

agree that trading had a big part to play. A lot of people
also think that it might have been caused by the bacteria
that were on the fleas that were on Black Rats.
Some things that people thought caused The Black Death
are quite unusual. Some people thought that the
movements of the planets made people get the diseases,
while others thought that the gods were punishing them.
Some other beliefs were things like enemies had
poisoned their wells and they drunk something bad. Or
that the fumes they smelt had something in them.
If you had The Black Death, there were some strange
ideas that would cure it. Some ideas were consuming
some 10 year old treacle or some crushed emeralds. You
could also sit in a room between 2 lit bonfires or rub your
wounds with a live chicken. You could also have a bath
in urine or have yourself smeared with human faeces.
None of these cures worked. However, in 1361-1364,
doctors discovered that if you pop, or burst, the buboes,
caused by the Bubonic Plague, then you would get better.
The Black Death had a big effect on the people and
societies that it hit. In the British
Isles and Ireland, it killed about 3.2
million people. In some areas, The
Black Death killed about 50% of the
population. In other areas, it killed up
to 100% of the population. It is also
thought to have destroyed the Feudal
System.

It also affected other parts of the world, like the

economy. The Black Death caused a shortage of workers,
either because they died or they ran. Parliament also
stopped rising wagers, this made the poor very upset.
Also, art was affected because of this. The artworks
changed from optimistic artworks to painting or drawing
things like Satan, Hell, The Grim Reaper and other things
like that.
Bibliography:
http://www.history.com/topics/black-death
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?
articlekey=141316
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yersinia_pestis
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/history/middle_ages/th
e_black_death/revision/1/