Name:______________________ Period:_______ Date:______
It came from Asia. When it struck, it killed-in some places it wiped out entire squirrel like rodent called a tarbagan or
Mongolian marmot. When for whatever populations. People were not sure how it spread. Some thought was spread through the air; others thought it could be caught by looking into the eyes of someone who already had it. Everyone agreed that once you came into contact with someone who had there was a good chance that you would catch it too.
During the Middle Ages it was called the plague. Later on it was called the Black
Death.
A person who had the plague had chills, became feverish and developed tumors in the groin and under the arm pits. The tumors called buboes sometimes grew as large as apples. Shortly before a person died, black and purplish spots and rings appeared o the body. Another characteristic of the disease was the terrible odor that it gave off.
Modern science had discovered how the bubonic plague is carried. It is a bacillus that is carried either in the bloodstream of an animal or the stomach of a flea.
The plague is often carried by rodents.
The plague of the 14 th
century started in
Mongolia and was spread by a cutereason, perhaps a flood or drought, these rodents began to move, the plague begin to spread.
There have been several large-scale plagues. The first started in Arabia. It reached Egypt in 542 and eventually spread to England and Ireland in 664. It helped weaken the Roman Empire of
Justinian. The second great plague occurred in the 14 th
century. It reached
Europe in 1348. Its last flourish was in
London in 1665. The third great plagues begin in Yunan, China in 1892. This spread to India by 1896, where it killed six million people. It has yet to run its course and has made its last appearance in South America.
The Great Plague of the 14 th Century had a profound impact upon the lives of the people. It encouraged many to believe in witchcraft, magic and superstition. Even more importantly, it loosened traditional feudal ties. With the large loss of life there was increased competition for labor. Wages improved and people left their feudal manors to find better jobs.

Name:_________________________ Date:______________ Period_______
Use your textbook and worksheet to answer the questions. Be sure and write in
complete sentences.
1. From what continent did the Plague come from?
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2. What were the symptoms of someone who had the plague?
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3. What percentage of Europeans died from the Plague?
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4. What did the Black Death encourage many people to believe in?
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5. What economic effects did the Plague have on Europe?
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/ 5 Points