Restoration England - Crisis Flashcards
when was the Great Plague?
1665
what were the symptoms of the plague?
- painful swellings called buboes appear in the victim’s armpits, usually the size of an egg but could be bigger
- vomiting and fever
- bleeding under the skin causes dark blotches to appear all over the body
- the disease attacks the nervous system causing spasms and terrible pain
-if the buboes burst the victim may survive but if not they will suffer a painful death
what did people at the time think caused the Great Plague?
bad air - open sewers ran through the streets and animals living in the city with their owners. many believed that it was the bad smells that spread the disease
God - some saw the great plague as a punishment from God. Catholics may have seen it as a punishment for abandoning the faith; others saw it as evidence that the country was not Protestant enough
planets - there was a widely held belief in astrology in the seventeenth century and many believed that the alignment of the planets was the cause
stray animals - London’s streets were full of stray cats and dogs and some believed that they might be spreading the disease. All together around 40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were killed on the orders of the Lord Mayor
what were “quacks”?
- Conmen took advantage of the situation selling all sorts of potions and remedies to desperate people
- these people with questionable medical skills were known as quacks
what were the measures taken b the city authorities to prevent the spread of the plague?
- houses, where the plague had struck, were boarded up and marked with a large cross and the words ‘Lord have mercy on us’
- no one could leave or enter an infected house for a month after the last victim had died or recovered. Watchmen were appointed to enforce this
- searchers were given the job of identifying which corpses were killed by the plague
- the dead were only to be buried at night in species plague cemeteries following strict regulations
- victims’ clothing was burned
- fires were lit in the street to try and remove the bad air
- pubs and theatres were closed
- people had to sweep the streets outside their homes
- dogs and cats were killed and all animals were banned from the city
- the Royal Society and other organisations stopped meeting
what is the “Bill of Mortality”?
- prior to the plague, the authorities had not been strict when it came to reporting deaths but they began to insist this was done
- Bills of Mortality showed the numbers that died, the causes of death and where they lived
what was the Great Fire of London?
- At 1 am on 2nd September 1666, a spark started a small fire at a bakery in pudding Lane, London
- within five days one third of the city had been destroyed and around 100,000 people had been made homeless
- it took 50 years to fully rebuild the city
how many houses were destroyed?
- 13,200
- 100,000 people had been made homeless
- fewer than ten people died
why did the fire spread so quickly?
the summer of 1666 had been hot and dry, perfect conditions for a fire
- the fire spread quickly due to the tightly packed buildings and a strong wind blowing the flames from house to house
- many houses were wooden and the surrounding buildings were warehouses storing flammable materials like rope, oil and timber: a perfect combination of conditions for the fire to engulf the city quickly
what was the most effective way of stopping a fire?
- demolishing the buildings in its path to create a firebreak, leaving it nothing to burn
- this required organised leadership but the Lord Mayor failed to fulfil this role
- with the Lord Mayor unable to cope, the king stepped in and put his brother, the Duke of York, in charge.
- James ordered the demolition of whole rows of houses
- five days after the first spark the wind dropped and the firebreaks finally began to work
what was the aftermath of the Great Fire?
- angry at their terrible losses, and the lack of action from the authorities, people began to look for someone to blame - there were suggestions of a foreign, possibly catholic plot bu there was never any evidence of his
- a French watchmaker names Robert Hubert confessed responsibility for starting the fire and was hanged on 28 September however he wasn’t even in London during the fire
how did Charles control the aftermath of the Great Fire?
- he quickly set bout bringing order, setting up a special court to deal with disputes about who should pay for the damage. Charles was determined that rebuilding should begin as soon as possible and set about making grand plans fo the city
who put forward plans to rebuild the city?
Charles
how many churches were lost after the Great Fire?
87 out of 109 including St.Pauls Cathedral
which European city was London to be remodelled on?
- London was to be more like Paris and other European cities, with great buildings, wide streets or avenues and grand open public squares like those in Italian towns and cities
