What was the Black Death?
The Black Death was a devastating plague pandemic that swept through Asia, Europe and North Africa in the 1340s and 1350s. It killed an estimated 30 to 60 percent of Europe's population.
The disease was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, carried by fleas on rats and other animals and also spread from person to person. It likely came from Central Asia along trade routes and reached Europe in 1347, when ships arrived in Sicily from the Black Sea.
Symptoms included fever and painful swollen lymph nodes, called buboes, which gave bubonic plague its name. Many victims died within days. Whole villages were abandoned, and there were not enough people to bury the dead.
How it changed Europe
With so many workers gone, surviving laborers could demand higher wages, which helped weaken the feudal system. The plague returned in waves for centuries. The word quarantine comes from the Italian quaranta giorni, meaning 40 days, the period ships had to wait before landing in Venice.
Did You Know?
Plague still exists today in a few regions, but it can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.