Mado G

Hour 2

The Black Plague

            Have  you  ever  heard  the  song  “Ring  around  the  Rosies?”  Well  it was  based  on  the  disease  that  reached  Europe  in  1346  killing  almost  half  of  Europe’s  population.  This disease  was  called  the  Black  Plague;  it started  in  animals  and  spread  to  humans.  It  wasn’t  only  called  the  Black Plague;  it  also  had  many  other  names.  It  didn’t  start  in  Europe,  but when  it  spread  to  Europe  it  affected  everyone’s  life.  There  were  different types  of  the  Black  Plague  and  they  all  brought  fear  to  the  Europeans.

This is a hand that has the Black Plague.

How the Plague Started

            Have  you  ever  thought  that  marmots  could  carry  a  disease  that killed  75  million  Europeans?  The  Black  Plague  was  believed  to  have  started  in  marmots,  which  transferred  it  to  fleas.  Once  fleas  had  the  Black  Plague  rats  caught  it.  Eventually  the  disease  spread  to  humans,  who  could  find  no  cure.

                                       a map of where the plague spread

Names for the Plague

            The  Black  Plague  was  not  only  known  as  the  Black  Plague.  It  was  also  known  as  the  Black  Death,  Great  Death,  Italian  Fever,  Italian  Pestilence,  Moroccan  Fever,  and  even  Mountain  Fever.  It  was  called  the  Black  Plague  because  when  you  caught  this  disease  your  skin  would  blacken,  thus  the  name  Black  Plague.  They  used  the  word  plague  because  the  word  Plague  means  a  widely  spread  disease.  Known  by  many  names,  everyone  knew  this  disease.

Types of the Plague

There  were  two  main  types  of  the  Black  Plague,  The  Bubonic  and  the  Pneumonic  Plague.  The  more  common  version  of  the  plague  was  the  Bubonic  Plague.  Symptoms  for  the  Bubonic  Plague  were  fever,  headache,  swelling  in  the  neck  and  armpit,  bleeding,  nausea,  vomiting,  and  pain  and  ache  in  the  joints.  The  other  type,  the  Pneumonic  Plague  had  different  symptoms  which  were  fever,  headache,  cough,  chest  pain,  and  weakness  in  the  muscles.  With  the  Bubonic  Plague  you  would  get  a  fever  of  100°-105° F,  also  four  out  of  five  people  who  caught  the  Bubonic  Plague  died  within  eight  days.  Although  they  were  different  they  were  both  deadly.

Symptoms of the Pneumonic Plague        

Symptoms of the Bubonic Plague    

How it affected life

It  didn’t  matter  what  type  of  the  Plague  you  had,  either  was  still  a  hardship.  Many  would  abandon  their  city  and  their  family  in  fear  of  the  disease.  Thinking  they  were  securing  their  safety  many  people  had  a  common  cruel  policy,  which  was  to  not  touch  anything  a  diseased  person  touched,  or  go  near  a  diseased  person.  Some  even  had  communities  where  sick  people  were  forbidden.  All  Europeans  were  terrified  of  catching the  Black  Plague.

        This  disease  started  in  marmots,  and  spread  to  humans.  It  was  known  by  many  names  and  spread  all  through  Europe.  It  had  different  forms  and  affected  everyone’s  life.  The  Black  Plague  was  one  of the  largest  epidemics  the  world  has  ever  seen.

Here is my Biblyography.