Preview

Essay On The Black Plague

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
838 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On The Black Plague
“Plague has been responsive for some of the worst catastrophes in the story of humankind”(Dobson 8) The black plague was one of the most catastrophic events that ever happened in the history of the world. It killed hundreds of millions of people over a 700-year time span (Benedictow). In this paper I will be exploring how people got the plague, what happened when you have the plague and the impact the plague has on the world today
There were numerous causes to the black plague; one of the main ones is bacteria. The scientific name for the bacteria that caused the black plagues is Yersinia perstis (Dobson 10). This bacterium was once harmless but then evolved into one of the most dangerous bacteria’s the world has ever seen (“Researchers” 06a). The way the Bactria was transferred was by blood if one person had the black plague and someone else touched some of their blood or spit they could also contract the disease
…show more content…
The reason the black plague was so successful at infecting millions was because the trade ships would go from place to place and at each place they stopped they would not only trade goods with them but also give them the plague. During war people would use the dead bodies as a weapon, they would launch the dead infected bodies into city’s hoping that the people in the city would contract the disease
Once the disease was spread many of the people deal with the symptoms of the plague. Here are a few of the symptoms, the most prominent symptom of the bubonic plague was large painful lymph nodes name buboes, these buboes would be the size of baseballs and they would appear where a flea or other animal bit you (Plague 1). Some of the other less common symptoms includes hallucination (Dobson 12), body covered with black tokens (Dobson 10), and having a really high fever (plague

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    It all started as a mere headache, then grew into something greater rapidly. The plague came in three different forms. The first form was the bubonic variant, which was the most common, caused swelling lumps called buboes. They were also called tumors. Buboes could range in size from an egg to an apple. They appeared on the victim’s neck, armpit or groin area. People say that a gush of blood from the victim’s nose was often the sign of inevitable death. Soon after this the symptoms started to change, black and purple spots started showing up all over the body such as the arms or thighs. Sometimes they were very large, but they were usually small. These spots were often a sign of death and from this point on, there’s nothing to do to stop it. The second form is the pneumonic plague. It attacked the respiratory system and was spread by breathing the exhaled air of the victims. The third form is the septicemic version, which attacked the blood…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History reveals the mid-14th century as a very unfortunate time for Europe. It was during this period when the continent became afflicted by a terrible plague. The source of the pathogen is known today as bubonic but was colloquially known as “The Black Death” to Europeans of the day. The plague caused a tremendous number of deaths and was a catalyst of change, severely impacting Europe’s cultural, political and religious institutions.…

    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Black Plague is a massive epidemic that grew to become so large, so fast that it disrupted society across the globe. It was a horrific experience for most of humanity at the time. In certain cities in the Middle East the plague averaged 2,400 deaths a day (Armesto, Pg.351). The plague affected mostly everyone either if it was indirectly or directly.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The plague was often spread by fleas that lived on rodents and animals, especially from rats. The rats or fleas could be hiding in clothing or luggage of traveling people, causing them to introduce the disease to new areas. This method of disease introduction was referred to as “spread by leaps” or “metastatic spread.” The people who lived in the era of the Black Death were incredibly afraid of the disease, as dead bodies were piled into carts and the living victims were locked in their homes to contribute to the effort to limit the spread of the disease. Victims who recovered from the Black Death had to retrieve a ‘Certificate of Health’ to leave their homes and return to their ordinary lives.…

    • 2237 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history, there were a series of horrific bubonic plagues that spread around the world. The bubonic plague is a deadly disease that forms buboes and causes many other terrible symptoms. The bubonic plague affected the world three different times. The first time the pandemic hit was in 542, it was called the Justinian Plague. The second time was in 1347, it was called the Black Death.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The terrifying bubonic plague was described as swellings called bubonic that arose on victims’ bodies. Their…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Around 1347 in Western Europe, an Asia epidemic, The Black Death became widely spread through frequent trading with infected cities. In three years’ time, one third or about twenty-five millions of Europe’s population was killed by the plague. The Black Death victims were susceptible to contracting the plague due the seven year famine that occurred directly before the outbreak. Shortage of food, caused by extreme weathers that prevented crop growth, weakened the population’s immunity to deadliest disease in history (Last, John M., 122-123).…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Y Pestis Research Paper

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The bubonic plague has an incubation time of 2-6 days. It is diagnosed by an enlargement of the lymph nodes; mainly in the neck, groin, or armpits. This is accompanied by extreme exhaustion, fever, confusion and headaches. Whilst Y pestis is present in the nodes, it avoids the immune system response and replication ensues resulting in extreme swelling of the lymph nodes. As the plague progresses the bacteria move into the bloodstream and can result in death by endotoxic shock due to the large numbers of bacilli in the blood. According to the World Health Organisation, death occurs in 50-70% of untreated cases…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some of the pneumonic plague symptoms are infection in the lungs and sharp chest pains. The septicaemic plague symptoms are infection in the blood stream and delirium. The Black Death took place in Europe it started in 1346 and end in 1353, the Black Death killed 25,000,000 - 50,000,000 people. The first consequence of the Black Death was social.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black Death

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Its symptoms were the swelling of the armpits and other areas of the body, mostly the groin and the neck, another symptom would be rings around your cheeks, the main symptom was black patches around the skin caused by bleeding around the buboes(swollen lymph glands). About one fourth of Europe died within a few years after the Plague was introduced to Europe in 1347. Europe wasn't the only place to be hit with the Plague. The Far East was also affected by it to, though not as severe as Europe was. Many scientists and people believe that rats and other rodents brought the epidemic to Europe. Most Epidemics are most likely to occur when rats live closely with humans in areas where there is poverty with poor sanitation and that also share an environment with wild rodents that have plague bacteria. (Jones, 2011).…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The flea passes this bacteria to its offspring. A female flea can lay up to 500 eggs in a lifetime. It is easy to understand why the epidemic was so difficult to get under control. Although people most commonly get the plague virus from being bitten by a flea that has been infected by a small rodent, it is also possible to get it from being in contact with infected tissue or fluids of an animal with the bacteria. When treating patients, doctors and nurses should consider the plague in any patient with clinical signs of plague and recent history of travel to western United States or any other playing endemic area. The bubonic plague it is the most common primary manifestation. Symptoms can include fever, aches, vomiting in inability to keep food down, skin covered in black boils oozing pus and blood and swollen, tender lymph nodes (buboes). A person usually comes I will bubonic plague 2 to 6 days after being infected. Someone exposed to your Yersina pestis through the air would become ill within 1 to 3 days. The recommended treatment for patients, in the United States, suffering from the disease is Gentamicin and fluoroquinolones through IV therapy as soon as plague is suspected and for 10-14 day or until fever stops. Sometimes oral therapy is consented if the patients begins to recover. If the bubonic plague is not…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Black Death

    • 1283 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The best known symptom of bubonic plague infected, enlarged, and painful lymph nodes, known as buboes. After being transmitted via the bite of infected fleas, the Y. pestis bacteria localize in an inflamed lymph node where they start to colonize and reproduce. Buboes associated with the bubonic plague are found in the armpits, upper femoral, groin and neck region. Acral gangrene (“Bubonic Plague”).…

    • 1283 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    black death

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A strange disease attacks the Pine Hills community and the city goes berserk/chaotic. Scientist from Harvard and Yale work together to discover the deadly disease. So far 52 people have died and from there DNA, scientists have discovered that the bacteria are similar to the genetics the Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, killing an estimated 75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe in the years 1348–50 CE. Although there were several competing theories as to the etiology of the Black Death, analysis of DNA from victims in northern and southern Europe published in 2010 and 2011 indicates that the pathogen responsible was the Yersinia Pestis bacterium, probably causing several forms of the bubonic plague.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play is a very deadly disease caused by bacteria called Yersinia Pestis. The main way that the plague gets transported is by rats and fleas. The bacteria can also be transported by other small mammals. In order for the bacteria to get to a human the small animal must be bitten by a flea then that same flea must bite a human. The Bubonic Plague is an infection of lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are a the parts of the body helps fight diseases. They are important part of the human immune system. Some common symptoms of the Bubonic Plague or chills, fever, malaise, headache, muscle pain, seizures, and lymph node swelling. The swelling of the lymph nodes her called buboes. The buboes will mainly appear in the groin area, armpits, neck,…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hesty

    • 2155 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The bubonic plague or “Black Death” killed almost 33 percent of the entire population of Europe when it struck between 1347 and 1350. It also affected millions in Asia and North Africa. Scientists believe that the plague was a zoonotic disease caused by Yersinia pestis bacterium and spread due to poor hygiene and fleas carried by rats.…

    • 2155 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics