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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, September 11, 2015: The Black Death!

Weymouth Sun [28 of 41)

It must be quite rare to stroll around one's home town and glimpse a plaque high on the harbour wall that has quite such impact as this plaque in Weymouth Old Harbour! It's stark message is very clear and chilling. Although initially ascribed as being caused by fleas, or rats, latest research in 2015 seems to suggest that a small creature like a gerbil actually carried the bacterium into England - but the rest is history...

 

The grim history:

In Medieval England, the Black Death was to kill 1.5 million people out of an estimated total of 4 million people between 1348 and 1350. No medical knowledge existed in Medieval England to cope with the disease. After 1350, it was to strike England another six times by the end of the century. Understandably, peasants were terrified at the news that the Black Death might be approaching their village or town.

Up until recently the Black Death was thought to have been caused by fleas carried by rats that were very common in towns and cities. When the fleas bit into their victims, it was thought they were literally injecting them with the disease.

 

more information: http://iidr.mcmaster.ca/IIDR-n...inar_BlackDeath.html

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