v.s
Black Death
Smallpox
Eloise 7-4
Comparing two of the deadliest outbreaks of all time
Black Death
Smallpox
A bacteria called yersinia pestis, lived in the guts of fleas was the cause of the Black Death. Fleas would jump onto animals and humans. One specific carrier, Rats, were amazing at transporting the plaque over long distances, infecting many countries.
Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, Orthopocvirus, a member of the Poxviridae family. It spreads from people to people. There are no natural animal carriers that are known.
1340-1771
10,000 BC-1979
60% of Europe's population was killed because of the Black Death
Pneumonic - 90% mortality rate
Bubonic - 50%
mortality rate
On average, 3 out of 10 people died because of Smallpox
The mortality rate of variola major was 30%
Smallpox killed over 300 million people !
About 75 million people were killed
Symptoms
Lymph Nodes (Buboes)
-Lymph Nodes on neck, armpits, and groins
-Black patches
-High fever
-Aching limbs
-Fatigue
-Shivering fits
-Blood Vomit
-High fever
-Back Pain
-Eruption of skin that leaves catered pox on face and limbs
-Headache
-Fatigue
-Vomiting
-Diarrhea
-Lesions
-Blindness
-etc..
Black Death
Smallpox
How it Spread
The Black Death was one of the worst plaques that spread death to many countries. The plaque started in Central Asia and slowly traveled to places like the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. Infected people would travel on trade routes and trading boats, making the job of spreading the virus easier for the bacteria.
Smallpox was thought to have originated in Egypt or India at least 3,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of smallpox was from Ramses V, an Egyptian Pharaoh.
This disease was then spread along trade routes located in Asia, Europe, Africa, and eventually reached America during the 1500s
What did People do to Prevent the Virus
Europeans tried unproductive methods like bleeding out, enemas, purgative, prayer, and they also tried to quarantine themselves.
Asia and Africa had a method that worked. For centuries , the Chinese has been using a method called inoculation, which is also known as Variolization. In the Chinese procedure, smallpox scabs were crushed into powder and blown up into a person’s nose.
Africans, Indians, and Turks had similar but different method. They would inject scab powder or smallpox pus into a wound in the skin. In both procedures, the patient would get a mild case of smallpox, recover, then would be immune to the virus for life. However, there were disadvantages of this procedure. For example, the patient could infect other people or worse, 1 out of 50 people would die.
inoculation Variolization
People thought of many different ways to avoid the plaque some examples are:
1. Avoid breathing in the same air as an infected victim.
2. Sit next to a blazing hot fire. This method worked for the Pope during the summer of 1348.
3. When walking around, you could carry flowers, herbs, or spices where you would raise up to your nose.
4.Go on a pilgrimage, punish yourself in public by joining the flagellants.
5. Doctors would bleed out the patient.
etc...
Bleed the victim out
Bleed the victim out
Different Views Held by People
Smallpox was not very blessing for the North Americans as the virus killed an estimated 90% of the Native Americans. On Cortés conquest of the Aztec capital, smallpox already killed a quarter of the capital's population, making the conquest much easier for the Spanish.
NATIVE AMERICANS
Christian View: The plaque was a punishment from God for humanity's sins but could also be caused by "bad air", witchcraft, and sorcery. Some believed that foreigners or those who followed a different religion had poisoned the wells which resulted in a lot of Jews getting killed.
Muslim View:The plaque was a merciful gift from god. The muslims thought that the plaque was not contagious because it came directly from God to specific individuals according to God's will.
Christianity
Muslim
"God"
How it Impacted Humans Back then
When the Black Death swept out a third of Europe's population, it also disassembled feudalism
Peasants were able to leave their lords to seek higher wages due to the shortage of labor.
Catholic Churches lost their power over people, many popes died, people would whip themselves wanting God to forgive them.
A lot of Jews were burned and killed. It was rumored that they were the ones who brought the plaque to the country.
Smallpox was class-blind. It killed both the rich and the poor.
Smallpox continued to spread across other places like Asia and reached Europe. This disease did not spare royalty. Queen Mary II of England, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, French King Louis XV, and Tsar Peter II of Russia, were all victims of this disease and later died.
Impact on Modern Day
In the year 1348, Pope Clement VI lifted the ban of human dissection so doctors could try to understand what caused the Black Death. This is where modern medicine starts.
Hygiene was taken more seriously and people realized that the reason why the disease spread so rapidly was because of the filth.
Smallpox was eradicated by the world health organization in the year 1980. The vaccine was found by Edward Jenner.
Over 300 million people died because of smallpox.
Some believed that 90% of the Native Americans were wiped out because of smallpox
The Black Death and Smallpox were two very dangerous outbreaks, killing many on the way. However, because of these two outbreaks, we would have never known how important Hygiene is. These two outbreaks were very important as they formed the word quarantine and improved our knowledge in the form of medicine.
45%
Works Cited:
CDC. "History of Smallpox." CDC, 30 Aug. 2016, cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html. Accessed 21 May 2020.
Crawford, Mark. "Smallpox." World History, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/311102?terms=smallpox&sTypeId=2. Accessed 20 May 2020.
King, Sims. "The Plaque in the 14th Century." School History, www.cloverleaflocal.org/Downloads/Plaguebooklet.pdf. Accessed 21 May 2020.
Mark, Joshua J. "Effect of the Black Death on Europe." Ancient History, 16 Apr. 2020, www.ancient.eu/article/1543/effects-of-the-black-death-on-europe/. Accessed 22 May 2020.
"Religious Responses to the Black Death." Ancient History, 16 Apr. 2020, www.ancient.eu/article/1541/religious-responses-to-the-black-death/. Accessed 21 May 2020.
National Geographic. "Smallpox The disease, now eradicated, was once one of the world's deadliest." National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/smallpox/. Accessed 20 May 2020.
Ochmann, Sophie, and Max Roser. "Smallpox." Our World in Data, ourworldindata.org/smallpox.
Whipps, Heather. "How the Black Death Changed the World." Live Science, 28 Apr. 2008, www.livescience.com/2497-black-death-changed-world.html. Accessed 22 May 2020.
Sources