Black Plague Essay Example for Free

Black Plague Essay A severe headache, the chills, a bad fever, swelling, lumps, exhaustion, and blood in your urine. What could possible cause these harsh symptoms? The Black Plague, also know as the Black Death or Bubonic Plague can. This disease killed thousands of people and left many devastated. In the 1500’s the Black Plague had a huge outbreak in England that killed over eighty-thousand people. The cause was not sure back then so victims could not take proper care and get the right medical treatment they needed. Random outbreaks would happen and there was no way to cure them. Once you were infected you had about two to six days until death. Many people died miserable deaths and others where left depressed. In the sixteen and seventeen centuries victims of the Black Plague would be sealed in their houses, which were locked and bolted from the outside. Nobody was allowed to enter the house and the victims were not allowed to leave it. Once the outbreak occurred, Plague pits, about twenty feet deep, were dug for the infected citizens. Thousands of people would be thrown into the pit each day to be burned and have their bodies disposed of so the infection wouldn’t spread even more. Many people lost their lives to this uncontrollable disease. There were many ways that the Black Plague was transmitted. It was carried by rodents such as rats and squirrels, but it was also transmitted to humans by fleas. Sometimes it was transmitted by direct contact through open sores or even an infected person’s breath. Cats, dogs and other animals were also common carriers of the Black Plague. When trade and war began, the Plague spread tremendously killing even more people than it already has. Getting infected by the Black Plague was not fun. Black spots would appear on the victims skin, which was were they got the name â€Å"the Black Death. † Early symptoms were a fever, the chills, a bad headache and extreme exhaustion. Following that came swollen glands, mainly in the armpits and groin areas. Finally you would become very ill and soon pass away. It was not just the people who lived in the towns who were at risk of catching the Plague. Elizabethan farmers and retailers of farm produce were in constant danger of getting the virus, which could affect their job. If they got it, it would spread to all of the animals making it very hard to survive. The Elizabethan era was a truly dangerous time. The Black Plague ruined many families and destroyed many lives. The Plague does still exist today but is not as common as it was in the Elizabethan era, and we have cures for it now. Many outbreaks occurred and many people lost their lives. It was a truly devastating point in history.