In 1348 a disease arrived in Britain against which there was no defence and which the people had no real idea of its cause. By 1351 it had killed 1/3 of the people of Britain.
In this lesson you will earn about the disease known as the Black Death and why it was so quickly spread around Britain between 1348 and 1351.
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Here are FIFTEEN things you write down and learn about the Black Death.
Almost ½ the population of
Britain was killed.
The plague was carried
by fleas.
The fleas lived on Black Rats
The Black Rats entered
England on ships
from Europe.
The plague started in
China and India.
The plague killed both rich and poor
people.
Plague victims died within
seven days Of getting the disease.
Buboes or Lumps filled
with black puss appeared in the armpits
and groin.
If the plague got on the victim’s lungs
death came in three days.
Bloody coughing occurred which
spread the disease to anyone close to the victim.
Tightly packed and filthy cities spread
the disease quickly.
The youngest, oldest and
poorest suffered the most from plague.
15 of the 52 city councillors
in Bristol were killed by the plague.
The healthy abandoned the sick and whole villages
died out.
Parents Abandoned their children
to die if they got the plague.
300 people a day died
in London in 1349.
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How much of How much of
Britain’s Britain’s
population was population was
killed by the killed by the Black Death?
Black Death?
What creature What creature
carried the carried the
plague bacteria plague bacteria
in its guts?
in its guts?
On which animal On which animal
did the fleas did the fleas
live?
live?
How did the How did the
Black Rats get to Black Rats get to England carrying England carrying the plague germ the plague germ
in the fleas?
in the fleas?
Where did the Where did the
Plague first Plague first
break out in the break out in the
world?
world?
Which type of Which type of
people were people were killed by the killed by the
Plague:
Plague:
rich or poor?
rich or poor?
How many days How many days
did it take for did it take for
the Plague the Plague victims to die?
victims to die?
What signs of What signs of
the plague the plague
appeared in the appeared in the victims armpits victims armpits
and groin?
and groin?
How quickly did How quickly did
the Plague the Plague
victim die if the victim die if the infection spread infection spread
to the lungs?
to the lungs?
How did How did
coughing spread coughing spread the Black Death?
the Black Death?
Why did the Why did the Black Death Black Death
spread quickly in spread quickly in
the cities of the cities of
Britain?
Britain?
Which type of Which type of people suffered people suffered
most from the most from the
Plague?
Plague?
In which English In which English city did 15 of the city did 15 of the
52 town 52 town
councillors die of councillors die of
the Plague?
the Plague?
Why did some Why did some whole villages die whole villages die
out even though out even though not everyone got not everyone got
the Plague?
the Plague?
What did some What did some
parents do if parents do if their children their children got the Plague?
got the Plague?
How many people How many people
died each day in died each day in London when the London when the
Plague came in Plague came in
1349?
1349?
Why did the Plague spread so quickly in London in 1349?
The streets of English towns in the 14th century were very
unhealthy. This was one of the main causes of the spread of the plague in 1348. The filthy streets and tightly packed houses
made perfect breeding grounds for the rats and fleas that
carried the Black Death. Unfortunately people at the time did not know that fleas and rats were the carriers, so they did not think to clean up their streets and so stop the spread of the disease.
On the next slide you will see a picture of London in the 14th century as drawn by a modern artist. On the right is a list of reasons why the plague would spread so easily.
Watch the slide as it highlights each example.
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When the Plague came to London in 1348 there were 100 000 people living in the city. Soon 300 were dying every day. List the reasons in your book why the
disease spread so quickly and killed so many. 1. Toilets over the River Thames.
2. People fishing in the polluted river.
3. Butchers working in the street.
4. Food sold in markets on the filthy streets.
5. Animals kept in pens on the streets.
6. Toilet waste thrown out of windows.
7. Open sewers flowing down the street to the Thames.
8. A man urinating against the wall of a house.
9. Crowded houses in the city.
10. Animals pulling carts.
What should I have learnt?
•The Black Death came to England on ships in 1348.
•It was carried on fleas and Black Rats but people at the time did not know this.
•The Plague killed about 1/3 of all the people in Britain between 1348 and 1351.
•The symptoms of the plague were buboes (lumps) under the armpits, violent fever and coughing up blood.
•The plague spread quickly in the filthy cities of the time.
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lesson.
