How many people died from the bubonic plague?

AOR

The first catastrophic epidemic of the plague during the late Middle Ages has become known as the Black Death. It apparently originated in Asia and moved westward along the trade routes, entering Europe in 1347 during a period of inadequate harvests, when the poor had little natural resistance to combat the disease. In three years, the Black Death spread to nearly every country in Christendom, decimating the villages and towns in its path. Most estimates suggest over one-fourth of the population of Europe was wiped out, the losses being heavier among the poor than the rich, the elderly than the young. Some localities suffered severely, others lightly, but after the plague had spent its force around 1350, it returned with almost equal vehemence in 1360-61 and many times thereafter. http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc1/lectures/27blackdeath.html Jul 15 00, 8:55 PM

zbeckabee

Perhaps the best known pandemic of bubonic plague occurred in the 1300’s. It began in Asia in 1347 and from there spread by boat to port cities in Italy. It then moved up the trade routes, reaching England the next year. Its mortality rate was very high, estimated to be between 20 and 40%. It killed an estimated 43 million people worldwide, including 25 million in Europe, or 1/3 of the population there. http://dpalm.med.uth.tmc.edu/courses/BT2003/BTstudents2003_files%5CPlague2003.htm The following Bubonic Plague Timeline will give you some idea as to when some of the different "plagues" hit. http://www.twoop.com/medicine/archives/2005/10/bubonic_plague.html Mar 22 08, 10:31 AM

crookketchr

I am no scientist; however I am a very logical thinker and pretty good at math. I find it extremely difficult to believe anything put out by Christendom based on the following quote and numbers: "It killed an estimated 43 million people worldwide, including 25 million in Europe, or 1/3 of the population there." The math works like this: 43 million (worldwide) -25 million (Europe) =18 million (All other countries, including Asia) If, and only if, it originated in Asia, wouldn't it have killed more people in Asia and not Europe? It logically sounds like the fleas were already on the ships before they left Europe, morphed into more dangerous ones during the trips back (as do mosquitos), and merged with the local European fleas in order to kill more people in Europe than in Asia. Having knowledge of the plague-tainted blankets given to the Native Americans when the Europeans arrived in America, it just doesn't seem feasible that any plague originated anywhere else but Europe. With that....I rest my case. Mar 26 09, 1:10 PM

Baloo55th

The fleas weren't the disease. They were a secondary vector of the disease - or maybe a primary vector. The black rats were the other vector. The fleas didn't morph into anything. The disease arrived in Europe from Asia and spread westward and northward from the Mediterranean, which was the primary base of trade with Asia. As to killing more in Asia or Europe - disregard the actual numbers for a moment. Which is bigger - Asia or Europe? Remember all populations were much smaller then, but 18 million from Asia is vastly smaller than 25 million from Europe. All figures are guesswork, anyway. As to the blankets - a disease established in a place (endemic) is less fatal at home than abroad. If the disease had gone from Europe to Asia it would have had more effect in Asia. The Native Americans were reduced by smallpox, not bubonic plague, anyway. Europeans often survived smallpox - a then widespread disease in Europe - possibly through exposure to other variants like cowpox which are almost always non-fatal but which aid immunity to the more deadly smallpox. The natives of America didn't have smallpox - or the milder variants. By the way, you seem to object to Christendom. I personally don't consider myself part of it, except perhaps geographically. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_Plague Mar 26 09, 2:48 PM