Bubonic Plague During The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages were a time where Europe was shrouded in famine, wars, and plagues. One of the most well-known plagues was the Black Plague, which was a terrible disease that eliminated one-third of Europe’s population. After this plague, Europe began to change for the better. The Black Death caused a major shift in Europe, which led peasants to have social mobility which led to the Renaissance. Before the Renaissance though, Europeans had to endure the effects of the widely feared plague. What caused the Europeans to to be so frightened by this new plague? The Black Plague is speculated to be brought to Europe in the early 1330’s from a ship that came from China that contained cargo, men, and a ground-breaking virus. This plague was not a foreign virus though, it had already existed for millions of years before it resurfaced to infect more. The traders carried this disease in rats that were on their ships, and some of the sailors had also already been infected. Rats that came off the ships of traders carried the Black Plague into cities in Europe. The unkempt streets of Europe were the perfect breeding grounds for this soon to be epidemic. The
A human infected with the bubonic plague would die in less than a week. At the beginning, the person with the plague would experience a fever, chills, headaches fatigue, and achy limbs. Soon after, the lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, and groin would begin to swell and turn black, hence the name Black Death. The swelling lymph nodes are called buboes, giving it the name bubonic plague. Then, victims will begin to vomit blood and suffer from fits of hysteria. Coughing is also extremely common which makes exposure to the plague much easier because of the fluids being dispersed from the cough. After the lymph nodes swell to a certain point, the burst inside the body, thus causing the victim to