World History
Past pandemics that ravaged Europe. This BBC article is from November 2005. It discusses some of the past disease outbreaks which have killed large numbers in Europe. As talk of a possible bird flu pandemic continues, I think this is a good article to contemplate.
The author (Verity Murphy) notes that the first recorded European pandemic was in 430BC and it hit Athens.
The Greek historian Thucydides (who survived the outbreak) wrote, "People in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath."
Probably the worst European pandemic was in 6th Century AD under the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. A plague hit the city of Constantinople. It was the first recorded outbreak of the bubonic plague. It was devastating.
Murphy noted, "From AD 541 to 542 it killed 40% of Constantinople's population, with the Byzantine historian Procopius claiming that at its peak the plague was killing 10,000 people in the city every day. The disease fanned out across the eastern Mediterranean, wiping out a quarter of the region's population."
I would hope with modern medicine that any new pandemics will kill a much smaller percentage of people. This is probably true but with the widespread travel occurring around the world a new pandemic would also hit everywhere globally rather quickly. Even a pandemic killing 1% or 2% of the world population would set a new record for pandemic deaths. (Hat tip to the World of Royalty Blog for the article.)
- Black Death
Black Death The Black Death (Black Plague, The Plague, Bubonic Plague) was so named because the skin on many of its victims turned black, a result of massive blood clots. Although there have been many plagues throughout history, the three most associated...
- Epidemics In The Americas
Epidemics in The Americas The European encounter with the Americas after 1491 set in motion a demographic catastrophe among indigenous peoples across the hemisphere, specifically epidemic and pandemic diseases against which native peoples had no biological...
- Fatal Immunity And The 1918 Flu Virus
ABC has this report on why the 1918 flu virus was so deadly in Fatal Immunity and the 1918 Flu Virus. The bug that spread around the word was more deadly than the last year of deaths caused by World War One. Over 50 million people died. Siri Nillson reported,...
- Plague And Public Health In Renaissance Europe
Plague and Public Health in Renaissance Europe - This project involves the creation of a hypertext archive of narratives, medical consilia, governmental records, religious and spiritual writings and images documenting the arrival, impact and response...
- The Siege Of Constantinople In 1453
The Siege of Constantinople in 1453 - The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of the Ottoman; an online collection of primary sources and articles. From the site: One of the most important events in world history,...
World History
Past pandemics that ravaged Europe
Past pandemics that ravaged Europe. This BBC article is from November 2005. It discusses some of the past disease outbreaks which have killed large numbers in Europe. As talk of a possible bird flu pandemic continues, I think this is a good article to contemplate.
The author (Verity Murphy) notes that the first recorded European pandemic was in 430BC and it hit Athens.
The Greek historian Thucydides (who survived the outbreak) wrote, "People in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath."
Probably the worst European pandemic was in 6th Century AD under the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. A plague hit the city of Constantinople. It was the first recorded outbreak of the bubonic plague. It was devastating.
Murphy noted, "From AD 541 to 542 it killed 40% of Constantinople's population, with the Byzantine historian Procopius claiming that at its peak the plague was killing 10,000 people in the city every day. The disease fanned out across the eastern Mediterranean, wiping out a quarter of the region's population."
I would hope with modern medicine that any new pandemics will kill a much smaller percentage of people. This is probably true but with the widespread travel occurring around the world a new pandemic would also hit everywhere globally rather quickly. Even a pandemic killing 1% or 2% of the world population would set a new record for pandemic deaths. (Hat tip to the World of Royalty Blog for the article.)
- Black Death
Black Death The Black Death (Black Plague, The Plague, Bubonic Plague) was so named because the skin on many of its victims turned black, a result of massive blood clots. Although there have been many plagues throughout history, the three most associated...
- Epidemics In The Americas
Epidemics in The Americas The European encounter with the Americas after 1491 set in motion a demographic catastrophe among indigenous peoples across the hemisphere, specifically epidemic and pandemic diseases against which native peoples had no biological...
- Fatal Immunity And The 1918 Flu Virus
ABC has this report on why the 1918 flu virus was so deadly in Fatal Immunity and the 1918 Flu Virus. The bug that spread around the word was more deadly than the last year of deaths caused by World War One. Over 50 million people died. Siri Nillson reported,...
- Plague And Public Health In Renaissance Europe
Plague and Public Health in Renaissance Europe - This project involves the creation of a hypertext archive of narratives, medical consilia, governmental records, religious and spiritual writings and images documenting the arrival, impact and response...
- The Siege Of Constantinople In 1453
The Siege of Constantinople in 1453 - The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of the Ottoman; an online collection of primary sources and articles. From the site: One of the most important events in world history,...