The Plague
The Great plague
Plague has been in England for centuries but it really affected England in 1665-1666. The plague was brought down in 1666 when badly infected areas were burned down. The country of England was growing in population so a lot of people were living in poverty. Because of this the only way to get rid of rubbish was to throw it in the streets and that included human waste. All this rubbish brought in rats and the plague started to spread because of fleas.
The first case was in the poorest area of England where there was a lot of filth. The houses that people lived in were small and the houses were cramped so it was hard to avoid the disease to spread.
There was a popular poem that was used to describe the symptoms of the plague."Ring-a-ring of roses, a pocketful of posies, Attischo, Attischo, We all fall down." The first comment in the poem was a reference to red circular blotches that were found on the skin. These could also develop into large pus filled sacs found primarily under the armpits and in the groin. These buboes were very painful to the sufferer.
The second line refers to the belief that the plague was spread by a cloud of poisonous gas that was colourless (known as a miasma). This miasma could only be stopped, so it was believed, if you carried flowers with you as the smell of the flowers would overpower the germs carried by the miasma. There was also another ‘benefit’ to carrying sweet smelling flowers. A victim’s breath started to go off, as the disease got worse. The flowers perfume would have covered up this unpleasantness.
The final symptom was a sneezing fit that was promptly followed by death. Some of the victims did not get as far as this stage presumably as their lives were so poor that their bodies were even less able to cope with the disease. For some, a swift death was merciful. The rich could get out of the infected village by getting certificate but the poor could not afford the certificate to leave so they had to
Plague has been in England for centuries but it really affected England in 1665-1666. The plague was brought down in 1666 when badly infected areas were burned down. The country of England was growing in population so a lot of people were living in poverty. Because of this the only way to get rid of rubbish was to throw it in the streets and that included human waste. All this rubbish brought in rats and the plague started to spread because of fleas.
The first case was in the poorest area of England where there was a lot of filth. The houses that people lived in were small and the houses were cramped so it was hard to avoid the disease to spread.
There was a popular poem that was used to describe the symptoms of the plague."Ring-a-ring of roses, a pocketful of posies, Attischo, Attischo, We all fall down." The first comment in the poem was a reference to red circular blotches that were found on the skin. These could also develop into large pus filled sacs found primarily under the armpits and in the groin. These buboes were very painful to the sufferer.
The second line refers to the belief that the plague was spread by a cloud of poisonous gas that was colourless (known as a miasma). This miasma could only be stopped, so it was believed, if you carried flowers with you as the smell of the flowers would overpower the germs carried by the miasma. There was also another ‘benefit’ to carrying sweet smelling flowers. A victim’s breath started to go off, as the disease got worse. The flowers perfume would have covered up this unpleasantness.
The final symptom was a sneezing fit that was promptly followed by death. Some of the victims did not get as far as this stage presumably as their lives were so poor that their bodies were even less able to cope with the disease. For some, a swift death was merciful. The rich could get out of the infected village by getting certificate but the poor could not afford the certificate to leave so they had to