Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Plague in London : a case study of the biological and social pressures exerted by 300 years of yersinia pestis

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  • The Second Pandemic had a profound impact on the people of Europe. In the few years between 1347 and 1350, a new epidemic disease spread across the entirety of Europe and killed between one third and two thirds of the population. While this initial wave was important, the real significance of this disease is that after the first wave, plague remained present in Europe as an endemic disease with occasional sporadic epidemic outbreaks. In this manuscript, I examine, in detail, plague patterns in London, culminating in the last major outbreak in 1665, and I review evidence that the Second Pandemic resulted from Yersinia pestis. During the course of the epidemic, material wealth increased and living patterns changed in ways that altered plague distribution patterns. Although Londoners did not make much progress in understanding the etiology of plague or in developing treatment protocols, their experience with plague, combined with traditional beliefs and practices, allowed them to develop ordinances that successfully reduced the threat of plague, at least for some members of Greater London. In 1563, the focus of London’s plague was central London, and both poor and wealthy parishes suffered equally. During the final 100 years of the pandemic, the mortality differential between poor and wealthy parishes increased and wealthy central parishes were less severely devastated than poor parishes on the periphery. Because of the unique way in which plague is spread, the increased wealth enabled some Londoners to increase their distance from rats, and their fleas, enough to decrease their risk of infection by plague.
  • Keywords: London, plague orders, plague, Tudor
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