Blog Post Module 12

 The Bubonic Plague (a.k.a. the Black Death): The Bubonic plague caused a tragic global epidemic that impacted much of Asia and Europe in the mid 1300s. This disease killed millions of people over a span of five years. It was thought to be spread through the trading ships traveling and docking at different ports. People had very little knowledge of pathogens and how they are spread at this point. We now know this disease is spread by Yersinia pestis bacteria. It travels through the air and via infection by pests like fleas and rats (bite). Previously, before we had some semblance of city organization/urbanization, people stayed with their own and there was no concentrated area of people. This limited spread of disease and contact between infected individuals. However, around mid 1300s, throughout the world people were eager to travel and colonize new places. The movement of people from one place to drastically different areas sped up the rate this disease was able to spread. The lifestyle of conquest, traveling, and trading brought about circumstances perfect for the spread of bacteria/disease causing agents. Additionally, rats were often inadvertently brought aboard ships and then could be released once the destination was reached. They served as a disease spreading agent. As I stated earlier, a bite from a rat could infect people. People were also coming together in the formation of cities and towns at this time. The closer proximity to others, their dwellings, waste, etc. made the spread of this plague quite effortless. The crowded conditions associated with the new city way of living led to the rise of the Bubonic Plague. This was a lifestyle choice that definitely contributed to the massive number of individuals killed in this epidemic. 

The plague never really officially ended, but things got better once sailors were required to isolate until it was obvious they did not carry the disease. The first social distancing and quarantine if you will. 



Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death

https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death

https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/covid-black-death-plague-lessons

Comments

  1. Casey WorleyNovember 16, 2021 at 11:57 AM

    Emily,
    Great blog post! I knew about the Black Plague before this, but not in as much detail as I do now! Anyways, this plague is interesting because no one really knew where diseases came from or how to take disease prevention measures. As it turns out, the spread of humanity across the globe was a perfect storm for this deadly pandemic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hannah NineNovember 19, 2021 at 7:30 PM

    Hey Emily,
    Nice post on the Bubonic Plague! I never knew what the bacteria that was responsible for this disease was called, but now I do thanks to you. As I reading, I was thinking about how this disease kind of relates to our current COVID-19 pandemic so I thought it was cool how you included that this disease kind of brought about the first social distancing and quarantine as we know it today.

    ReplyDelete

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