The Black Death Flashcards
Where did the Plague spread from?
It spread from Asia to Europe
How many people died?
Almost half the population
What sort of ideas did people have about what caused the Black Death?
1347- Twelve galleys entered the harbour of Sicily. In their bones the sailors bore a disease that was so bad anyone who spoke to them was infected.
1348- That it was caused by anger of God
1349- they believed it was the Jews had poisoned drinking water in Strasbourg
1345- fire and huge winds fell from the sky in China and this spread the Plague and Disease
1349-flagelantes whipped themselves in Germany
1348- Two ships came alongside and one of the sailors had bought with him the seeds of this deadly disease
What two types of Plagues were there?
The bubonic Plague and the Pneumonic Plague
What was the Bubonic Plague and what were its symptoms?
The germ is carried in the bloodstream of rats -The fleas bite the rats for food and then go away for more food and bite humans.
The bubonic Plague doesn’t spread very widely in winter as fleas die out then.
Sufferers have a fever and swellings in the groin and armpit. 70% patients die. It takes between four and seven days for them to die.
What was the Pneumonic Plague and what were its symptoms?
It’s caught through breathing, it attacks the lungs
Patients cough blood and spray out germs every time they breath out
It kills everyone infected within two days
It’s not affected by the weather
Exam question: From what you know about living conditions in villages and towns, do you think diseases like the Plague would have spread very easily?
Yes, nobody knew from where the disease was really coming from. The towns and villages were extremely dirty meaning rats and fleas were a normal thing. Nobody would have thought it was the rats or fleas so nobody got rid of them
