Causes of The Black Plague

A period in which millions of people die is an unforgettable moment. Between the years 1347 to 1351 the plague hit Europe, over one third of its population vanished in a blink of an eye. At first no body knew what happened. People became sick with this unknown virus and usually it ended up too be fatal. When they first suspected it to be a disease they wondered where it originated from. Religious people thought that the out break was sent from god because of our sins, others thought it was the work of the devil. The result of the black plague was a horrendous sight. There were dead bodies lying around the street everywhere. The severity of the plague was definitely due to the way it was spread, its origin, and the way it affected its future.

             On its rampage it killed over one third of Europe. One of the most important aspects of the black plague was the way it was contaminated from people to people. When they first took notice of how serious the plague were many decided to flee their city in hopes of escaping it. Instead of escaping the deadly disease, some actually helped spread it. Living conditions during the middle ages were not hygienic and were very crowded. Some one with the disease could easily spread it to other villages. Once infected the person could easily kill an entire village because there was no cure known cure at the time. Another reason the plague was able to cover such a large area was due to the abundance of rats and fleas. Rats would have the bacteria inside of their body. When they would die fleas would pick at the remains. Fleas would then bite a human and the bacteria from the rats would now be inside the human. This never ending cycle lasted for four years and was the reason why so many died.

            When they first realized that an unknown killer was following them they wanted to know its origin. First speculations thought that God sent this to them because of their sins. Then others thought it was either the work of the devil of due the planets alignment. But, in reality it came from the rats. When the body of a rat would die, fleas would fly around it and pick at its remaining. The bacterium is now transferred inside the flea. Finally, the flea would bite a human and the bacteria would be transferred to him/her. This cycle would continue because people infected other people for the five years it was there. The living conditions were horrible. But, those are the conditions needed to create a deadly bacterium. Innocent people were killed because their waste and pollution eventually created a killer.