Black Death

Major Developments (1206-1340)
 Mongols (Genghis Khan) established a massive empire
running from Eastern Europe, through Mesopotamia,
across central Europe to China between 1206 - 1340.
 Silk road re-opened and other trade routes through
steppes expanded between 1207 - 1340.
 Genoese traders opened the Straits of Gibraltar to
Christian shipping in 1291.
 Mediterranean was connected by merchant trade to
northern Europe by land and sea. (1290 – 1340)
 Contacts between people from Europe, Africa, and Asia
expanded due to conflicts and cultural blending
Mongol Invasions (1207 – 1227)
The Silk Road Re-established
(1207 – 1340)
The Silk Road
Trade as a Facilitator of Death
(1290 – 1340)
Genoese (red) and Venetian (green) maritime trade routes in the Mediterranean and Black Sea
The Simplified Theory for the
Spread of the Black Death
• Originally transmitted between Mongols and Genoese Traders.
• Brought to Constantinople and the Italian Peninsula through
trade contacts.
• Infected Rats from trade
ships spread into port cities.
• Infected Fleas on the rats
spread to humans through
flea bites.
• Infected traders, pilgrims and
troubadours passed it to
others.
The Black Death
 The Black Death is thought to have entered Europe via a siege at
Kaffa in the Crimea in 1347.
 Supposedly transmitted by Geonoese traders to Constantinople
and throughout the Italian Peninsula.
 The spread and impact was geographically uneven.
 All Males and female adults were more vulnerable.
 Theory that the spread may have been related to iron in the diet.
 Further epidemics occurred again in the 1360s and 1370s.
 Intermittent outbreaks occurred for the next 300 years.
Spread of the Black Death
(Problems with the Original Theory)
 The Black Death is widely assumed to have been bubonic
plague (2nd pandemic).
 One theory suggests that Mongol troops who invaded the
Himalayan source in 1253 brought it back to Mongolia,
from where it spread underground across the steppes.
 However, there is no evidence of plague amongst Mongols
until after their contact with the Genoese.
 Chinese records indicate no plague before 1331. Believed
that this outbreak was transmitted by Mongols across Asia.
 There is suggestive evidence that a 14% loss of population
amongst the Mongols was due to conflict and not disease
Scott and Duncan Research
Scott and Duncan argue Black Death could not have been
bubonic plague for several reasons:
 Contemporary accounts all reported the plague was person
to person;
 No reports of a die off of rats reported during plague
 Black rat (Rattus rattus) likes warm conditions:
 IN Britain Rats did not spread inland to rural areas.
 The Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) only arrived in the 18th
century.
Susan Scott, Christopher Duncan, "Return of the Black Death", John Wiley & Sons, 2004
Scott and Duncan Research
Scott and Duncan argue Black Death could not have been
bubonic plague for several reasons:
 No rats in Iceland, yet the plague spread there.
 Plague moved too quick for rats – 100 miles in a few days;
 The Bubonic plague spreads very slowly.
 Weather in England was not warm enough for Xenopsylla
cheopis fleas to hatch (require 18oC)
Susan Scott, Christopher Duncan, "Return of the Black Death", John Wiley & Sons, 2004
Scott and Duncan Research
 Bubonic plague is not transmitted person to person - it requires
rats
 Pneumonic plague does not require rats - but it does not produce
buboes (one of the reported symptoms).
 Incubation period of Black Death was 32 days, latent period 10-12
days, infectious for 20-22 days without symptoms.
 Incubation for bubonic plague is only about 5-6 days.
 Bubonic plague has a much lower death rate than the Black Death.
 The ship from Constantinople that was supposed to have carried
the Black Death had no reported cases – its arrival was probably
just coincidental.
Susan Scott, Christopher Duncan, "Return of the Black Death", John Wiley & Sons, 2004
Scott and Duncan Conclusions
 Scott and Duncan say the Black Death was caused by an
unidentified air-borne disease, which they refer to as
haemorrhagic plague.
 They believe it was similar to the modern African
haemorrhagic fevers (e.g. Marbug, Ebola), suggesting
an African origin.
 They suggested that the Plague of Athens and the
Justinian Plague may also have been earlier episodes of
the same haemorrhagic plague.
Major Impact of the Black Death
 Chinese population declined from 123 million in 1200 to 65 million
1393. Probably bubonic plague.
 In Europe the Black Death killed an estimated 25 million people,
reducing the total population by 25-40 per cent.
 England, Italy, France, Poland, Russia and the Balkans are said to have
lost 50 per cent of their populations.
 Labour shortages hit food production;
- wage labour was introduced to attract workers and wages increased.
 Cities became more important causing the growth and power of the
bourgeoisie (Merchant Middle Class).
 Net economic effect
– collapse of feudalism and beginnings of capitalism.
 Decline in faith due to so many deaths (Including Church Leaders)
 Rise of Anti-Semitism as Jews became scapegoats