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The Plague: What caused it?

The Plague was first reported in Sicily. The Plague is a gross disease that killed many people. So it was very likely that you knew someone with the disease. The Plague was transmitted to humans from fleas.The Plague carrying fleas are commonly carried on rats. Once the fleas contracted the disease from the rat’s blood the disease would go and multiply in the fleas gut. This disease was spread when fleas contracted the disease and then went and bit another person. That’s how the disease first appeared in humans. It's gross to think that the disease started from a flea!! This disease was also spread through contacts with fluids and sometimes even air droplets. The Plague spread very quickly and infected many people. This was because cargo ships and warehouses would contain the infected fleas and rats. The Plague was a horrible disease that was killing people left and right so it was not uncommon to see dead people on the side of the road.

 Because the plague was killing so many people the population was decreasing rapidly. Some government officials were dying too from the deadly disease !!Because of this the community could not run itself. I guess you could call it controlled chaos! The Plague effected so many people that we still are shocked by its aftermath today and we still remember the tradgey that happened such a long time ago!

What were some of the things that people thought caused and could cure the plague?

           People blamed that Plague on many things. One of those things that people blamed it on was the gods. The Europeans thought that the gods sent the Plague as a punishment for the people. Another reason the Europeans thought the plague existed was that they thought that dangerous planets(Mars,Jupiter,and Saturn) were giving off dangerous gasses.I know that seems ridiculous but that's what they thought! Another way the Europeans explained the Plague was they thought that leaving garbage and dead animals out on the street to rot could have caused the Plague bacteria to grow. They were even blaming the Plague on the Jewish. Although these theory's are ridiculous that is how they explained the Plague because they didn't have the technology that we do today.

           Europeans had many ways of "curing/preventing" the Plague. One technique was to carry sweet smelling herbs around to drive away the poisonous gasses. (Well at least you smelled good).They were also advised to not to go outside when the wind blew south. You were supposed to avoid bathing and sex to keep you healthy.But today we would tell you to wash up more to prevent getting sick! Eating and drinking little was also advised. Even thought all these theory's may seem absurd think about it, if you didn't have the modern day technology these theory's would be the only way of explaining the Plague.

What were some of the areas effected by the Plague and when did the Plague first reach them?

         The Plague was wide spread all throughout Europe and effected most of the continent so there was no avoiding the Plague. More than likely you either had the Plague yourself or knew someone with the

disease. The plague first arrived in Sicily and spread far and wide from there. It reached Constantinople, The Western half of the Ottoman empire, Athens, Crete, Sicily, Corsica, and Sordid. in 1347. In 1348 it reached Santiago, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Barcelona, Marseilles, Venice, Genoa, Papal States, Rome, Naples, Kingdom of Naples, Northeast part of Africa, Rosina, Serbian and Pin Prince, Bulgaria, London, and part of Ottoman empire and Paris. By 1349 the Plague practically reached everywhere including Ireland, Norway, Wales, England, France, Orleans, Hungary, and the South part of Portugal.

       The Plague had pretty much covered Europe so there was no escaping the deadly disease. This was a scary disease because it killed fast once you caught the disease. You would be pretty much devastated if you found out that you had the disease because that meant not much time left to live. The disease was so widespread that most everybody had it. It was so common that sometimes you would walk down a street and see dead people on the side of the road.

What were some of the symptoms of the Plague?

         Most symptoms of the plague were very gross and painful and if I lived at that time and knew a person with the Plague I would probably not be able to look at them because of the horrid symptoms. The first nasty symptom is lumps. You would get lumps under your arms and in the groin.These swellings could grow to the size of apples. Then dark bruises would cover your body and your tongue would turn black. You then would develop a high fever. You would sometimes even cough up pus and blood (Gross! I know I would freak out if that happened to me). The plague was very scary for many people but the most scary thing was that the symptoms change over time. The changing symptoms make it very difficult to create a vaccine for the deadly disease.

       Once you had caught the Plague it would be a scary ride. Most people that caught the plague died very quickly. Most people would die after the third day from when the splotches/bruises firs appeared on their skin. So people would dread finding those dark splotches. The symptoms were very gruesome and sickening to look at but it was so common that people probably became more accustomed to it. All I have to say is that I would dislike it very much to live at that time and I am thankful that I am living in the world that I live in today!!!!!

What were the different variations of the Plague and how did they effect people?

         There were three main types of the Plague. The first type was the Bubonic Plague which was the most common type infected the lymphatic system. This variation had many symptoms including lumps or bumps on the skin. Your tongue would turn black and you would develop dark bruises. You could also experience swelling lymph nodes, black skin, fever, chills, headache, and bad smell.The Bubonic Plague was spread through fleas that were carried on rats. This type of Plague would usually kill in 2-7 days.

         The second type of Plague was the Pneumonic Plague. This type of Plague effected the respiratory system. Some symptoms of the Pneumonic Plague are coughing, coughing up blood, chest pains, short breath, and high fever. Most of the time this type of Plague killed in less than 2 days.

         The third type of Plague was the Septicemic Plague. This is the least common type of Plague and the Septicemic Plague effected the circulatory system. Symptoms include seizures and tendency to bleed. If you caught this type of the Plague then you would most likely die within 1 day.

         Each of these types of plague are very deadly and was the cause of many lost lives. The three types of the Plague were very scary for the people living there at the time even thought it doesn't seem like it cause there are little to no cases of the disease today.