Causes and spread of the Black Death impacted medieval society greatly. The Black Death was caused by fleas and rats. Contact with fleas was the most sure-fire way to get the dreaded plague. The 'cycle' of infection from fleas to humans went like this:
1. Flea bites rat, regurgitating infected blood into the open wound of
the bite.
2. Another flea feeds on rat that has been bitten by an infected flea,
putting the bacteria into the flea.
3. Flea searches for a new host, which could be a rat, human or any
other mammal.
The cycle went on and on, thus infecting more and more people.
Spreading of the plague went quickly and people did not realise how easily they spread the disease. Merely touching an infected person would give you the plague. The Black Death begun in Mongolia, and spread by merchants and traders when they went on their journey to earn money, thus spreading the disease all over Europe. The plague arrived in China by the early 1330s, the spreading of the plague making its way to Europe in October, 1347. Genoese merchant ships had arrived in Sicily, with affected people already on board, letting the plague loose all over the town within days. Soon, the pandemic had reached the larger cities of Italy, such as Rome, Genoa, Venice and Florence, where the death rates reached up to 50%, taking away half of the population so quickly. By January 1348, the plague had struck Marseilles in France, the largest city in northern Europe. It was estimated that up to 800 people died every day at the time. By
September that year, the Black Death had arrived in England, spreading its way to Scotland, Norway and Germany by the end of it. By spring 1350, up to 40% of London's population had been wiped out. In most cases, the Black Death had taken its most common form as the bubonic plague. The spreading of the disease was so quick and people perished very fast, as an estimated 75 - 200 million people died in total. Therefore, the ridiculous spreading of the dreaded Black Death had an absolutely immense impact on medieval society.
1. Flea bites rat, regurgitating infected blood into the open wound of
the bite.
2. Another flea feeds on rat that has been bitten by an infected flea,
putting the bacteria into the flea.
3. Flea searches for a new host, which could be a rat, human or any
other mammal.
The cycle went on and on, thus infecting more and more people.
Spreading of the plague went quickly and people did not realise how easily they spread the disease. Merely touching an infected person would give you the plague. The Black Death begun in Mongolia, and spread by merchants and traders when they went on their journey to earn money, thus spreading the disease all over Europe. The plague arrived in China by the early 1330s, the spreading of the plague making its way to Europe in October, 1347. Genoese merchant ships had arrived in Sicily, with affected people already on board, letting the plague loose all over the town within days. Soon, the pandemic had reached the larger cities of Italy, such as Rome, Genoa, Venice and Florence, where the death rates reached up to 50%, taking away half of the population so quickly. By January 1348, the plague had struck Marseilles in France, the largest city in northern Europe. It was estimated that up to 800 people died every day at the time. By
September that year, the Black Death had arrived in England, spreading its way to Scotland, Norway and Germany by the end of it. By spring 1350, up to 40% of London's population had been wiped out. In most cases, the Black Death had taken its most common form as the bubonic plague. The spreading of the disease was so quick and people perished very fast, as an estimated 75 - 200 million people died in total. Therefore, the ridiculous spreading of the dreaded Black Death had an absolutely immense impact on medieval society.