The Black Death

The Black Death was the most devastating disease during human history and it occurred during the Renaissance. It was an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague which is caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis. It was originated in China and was passed on by merchants who crossed the Silk Road until it got to Russia. Later on, this disease was all over Europe. The Black Death killed a 60 percent of Europe's population, which is a big number considering the population at the time. It took 150 years for the population to recover. 


The disease started all because people were not so clean at the time. Fleas carry the bacteria, fleas were on rats and people didn't care about rats at the time, they let them walk over their food, etc, and just didn't care. At first huge buboes appeared over the neck and under the armpits, later on large black spots appeared on the arms, legs, and the rest of the body. When these dark spots appeared it was sure you were going to die. Bocaccio describes the symptoms of the plague vividly: "In men and women alike it first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumours in the groin or armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg...From the two said parts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, now few and large, now minute and numerous. As the gavocciolo had been and still was an infallible token of approaching death, such also were these spots on whomsoever they showed themselves."