The great plague of London

The Great Plague of 1665

- London -

Introduction

        In 1665, England was struck by a virulent plague epidemic, known as “The Great Plague of London”. It was the worst outbreak of the bubonic plague, since the Black Death of 1348, and the last to occur in England.

Indeed, the country has, for centuries, faced many epidemics and resurgent of the plague, but that of 1665 was the most devastating.

In this perspective, we can ask ourselves what is the Plague, and more precisely: what are the characteristics of the Great Plague of 1665?

On the one hand, we will introduce you to the plague and present the town of London. On the other hand, we will focus on the outbreak, to conclude on the consequences of this terrible episode.

I- The Plague and London

A- Origin and prevention

        Coming from Asia, the Bubonic Plague followed the Silk road and seems to have first appeared in Europe during the 14th century. It is caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis, which was spread by fleas, feeding on the blood of black rats who carried them. The fleas bit into their victims, literally injecting them with the disease.

In 1663, a large plague epidemic hurt Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands. The English authorities, therefore warned, decided to set up prevention restrictions, trentine and then quarantine, for trade ships coming from Amsterdam and Hamburg to London. If they had completed their isolation period, they were given a certificate of health and were allowed to travel on.

Even though these measures have been gradually extended to all infected ports, some cases unfortunately seem to have started in the end of 1664, while the first official cases only date from April 1665.

 B- Symptoms and treatments

        Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium; this form was predominant during the Great Plague of London. After a flea bite, the bacteria are transmitted through infected blood, and once established, they rapidly spread to the lymph nodes and multiply. Symptoms appear 2 to 7 days after getting bitten.

They include the unfortunately famous buboes, which are infected, enlarged, and painful lymph nodes. They are generally located in the armpits, groin and neck region. Moreover, the patients suffered from chills and high fever, sometimes going through fleeting episodes of delirium, including headaches and muscle cramps. In the most serious cases, they had vomiting of blood, extreme pain caused by the decay or decomposition of the skin, and the majority of patients die within a week of the onset of the first symptoms.

There were different means of protection, among them open air fires, which served, according to a royal order, to purify the atmosphere or tobacco, to protect against the threat or even vinegar vapors or water from flowers and aromatic plants.

Those who were convinced that the plague was a magical or diabolical disease, recommended and preached withdrawal or penance as a solution. Others, more moderate, turned themselves to the medical knowledge of the time, apothecaries or midwives. Finally, the most conventional doctors followed the humoral theory, resulting from galenic medicine and practiced for the most part purges, bloodletting and plants’ inhalation.

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