So many of us reference the Black Death, sometimes on a daily basis. But how much do we know about it? We’re going to dive into some of the most inter

So many of us reference the Black Death, sometimes on a daily basis. But how much do we know about it? We’re going to dive into some of the most interesting facts about the Black Death that you probably didn’t know. Are you ready to take a walk down memory lane? 
 
1. It Significantly Reduced the World’s Population Back in the 14th century, a minimum of 75,000,000 lives were claimed by the Black Death, in three countries. Very few regions were spared from “the Great Pestilence” and in cities across Europe, lives were being lost by the hundreds, daily. Those with the disease rarely lasted more than three days, and there was a shocking 50-70% mortality rate. The pestilence was so bad, that bodies were piled on top of each other in mass graves. At one point, there weren’t even enough people left untouched by the plague to bury the dead. The world’s population would suffer so greatly that it would not recover for&nbsp; hundreds of years after. 
 
2. It Was Extremely Virulent After multiple plague outbreaks and deaths in the hundreds of millions, we’re still not sure what still didn’t know what exactly caused these deadly outbreaks. It wasn’t until 1894 that a scientist discovered the bacterium responsible for the outbreaks, called Yersinia pestis. Yersinia pestis is extraordinarily aggressive since it jumps from host to humans, disarming immune systems by injecting toxins into our macrophages (the defense cells in our bodies which are meant to detect bacterial infections). Yersinia pestis can also play host in a variety of mammals like rats, mice, prairie dogs, squirrels, and rabbits. For centuries, we believed that rats were the main hosts for the plague, but this simply isn’t true.&nbsp; 
 
3. Mountainous and Isolated Places Were Hit the Hardest Despite being transmitted along trade routes, mostly by sea, the hardest hit zones in Western Europe were in mountainous or isolated areas. That includes Snowdonia and Wales.&nbsp;Surprisingly, places like Milan were mostly spared from the devastation of the Black Death, even though they were major hubs. Sources say that only one household in Milan contracted the disease; and it would remain mostly plague free until 1400. The death rate in the Italian city of Florence was 90% and the French town of Caux in Normandy lost 66% of their population. While Europe was devastated by the plague, the average mortality rate was around 30 to 40%. 
 
 4. Quarantine Was the Most Effective Tool Much like our recent pandemic, communities that took part in quarantining and social distancing saw cases of the Black Death decrease. Officials in cities like Milan and Venice created policies very similar to those of the Spanish flu of 1918 and of course, COVID-19. Historians claim that the officials in these cities had a feeling that the disease could spread on objects and surfaces. They also knew that person to person contact was one of the main causes of the Black Death’s spread. Venice used an entire island known as Lazzaretto Vecchio to house people who had been infected by the disease. These measures were impressive for its time considering that humans did not know the reason for the spread. 
 
&nbsp; 5. 14th Century People Thought It Was God’s Plague Before the revelation that the Black Death was caused by bacteria carried by rodents and their fleas, Western European people who were most affected had all sorts of strange theories for how to cure it. Most thought the disease was caused by the divine and thought that prayer was the true cure. Others took a close but different route. They thought the plague was caused by anything from the devil to the alignment of the planets. Therefore cures ranged from animal parts, potions, fumigations and pastes. Some also believed that leaving the infected area was a good way of warding off the disease. Unfortunately, many Europeans blamed the Jews for the outbreak, and they suffered immensely for this lie.

Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About the Black Death

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