What is clear, is that in the four centuries between the Black Death and the disappearance of plague from Europe, doctors worked tirelessly to explain, contain and treat this terrifying disease. Related: Black Death Likely Altered European Genes Others point to evolutionary changes in humans, rodents or in the bacterium itself, but none of these claims seem to be holding up to recent discoveries in plague genetics. Some historians argue that public health had improved to such an extent as to halt the spread of plague, especially through the systematic and effective use of sanitary legislation. The plague of Marseilles, France, in 1720-1721 is considered to be the last major plague outbreak in Western Europe. The Great Plague of London in 1665 was the last major outbreak in England and plague also seems to have disappeared from Spanish and Germanic lands after the 17th century. (Image credit: Future) When did the Black Death end? However, these costumes were far less common and emerged much later, in the 17th century. Plague Doctors, with infamous beak masks, are a commonly associated with the Black Death. It is unclear why the Second Pandemic ended in Western Europe, while it continued to strike in Russia and the Ottoman Empire well into the 19th century. Many important developments in the history of medicine and health occurred against this backdrop of plague: the rebirth of dissection, the discovery of the circulation of blood and the development of public health measures. Plague doctors and scientists worked to understand and treat plague better, especially in terms of preventing its arrival and spread in their communities. How did the Black Death affect Europe?Īs surprising as it may seem to modern audiences, medieval and Early Modern people grew accustomed to the plague, and took this periodic loss of population in stride. It was a descendant of the ancient plague that had afflicted Rome, from 541 to 549 CE, during the time of emperor Justinian. Few of the later outbreaks in the Second Plague Pandemic were as devastating, but they nonetheless continued to kill 10-20% of the population with each recurrence. The Black Death was the second pandemic of bubonic plague and the most devastating pandemic in world history. The Black Death, Benedictow writes, was "the first disastrous wave of epidemics" of the Second Plague Pandemic. Related: In Photos: 14th-Century 'Black Death' Grave Discovered and the Third Pandemic lasted roughly between 1860-1960. The so-called First Pandemic occurred in the sixth through eighth centuries A.D. The period of recurring plague epidemics between the 14th and 18th centuries is known as the Second Plague Pandemic.
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