THE ARRIVAL AND SPREAD OF THE BLACK PLAGUE The Black Death, also known as "The Great Plague" or simply "The Plague," was caused
by a strand of bacteria found in a population of fleas. These fleas lived on the backs of
rats in Asia. Even before the Black Death arrived on European soil, there were rumors of
a deadly disease that had taken down entire armies in China.
Earlier in the 14th century, trade between distant countries was prohibitively time-
consuming and expensive. But by the 1340s demand for foreign goods had risen, and
travel between the East and West was fairly common. While this meant that trade
improved, it also meant that disease could be more easily transferred across the two
regions, as well. The rats were carried along trade routes from the East. A diseased rat
could pass the plague to a flea while the flea was feeding on it, and the flea could then
infect another rat, animal, or person.
Fleas were common enough at the time that bites did not startle people, and humans
had not yet discovered bacteria, let alone theorized that it could be transported by
insects. At the time, people believed that disease spread through poisonous vapors, or
miasma, coming from the bodies of the dead. Scientists today believe that the disease
was both airborne (meaning it passed from person to person who were near one
another) and was carried via contact, namely through rats and fleas. Common medicinal
practices of the time period, like bloodletting, would have also contributed to the spread
of the disease. For example, high standards of hygiene were not practiced; physicians
didn't even wash their hands.
Summary Sentence: