Spread of the Black Death

Did the Black Death strengthen or weaken the kingdoms of Europe?

​Essential Question:

Which had the greatest influence on the growth of early African and European kingdoms - trade, religion, conquest or social class?​

​Anchor Question:

How did the Black Death spread through Europe?

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​The Black Death Spreads Across Europe

The Italian sailors were not the only ones who carried the plague. The rats on their ship did, too. As the ship followed the trade routes, the Black Death spread to other ports. In 1347, the disease appeared in Genoa and other Mediterranean cities. From Constantinople, the Black Death began an unstoppable march across Europe and Asia. It moved through Athens, Crete, Alexandria, and Sicily. By 1348, there were more than 1,000 deaths each day just in the city of Alexandria alone.

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After showing up at seaports in Europe and Africa, the disease moved inland. By spring of 1348, most of Spain and France had outbreaks. The Black Death even killed half the people in London. By 1349, it had covered Scandinavia and eastern Europe. Finally, in 1350, it entered Russia.

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In some cities, more than half the population died. Workers pushed handcarts through the city streets, calling for the bodies of the dead. Bodies were piled onto the cart. Many records suggest that the Black Death killed about one-third of Europe’s population in the 1300s.

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About every 10 years during the 1400s and 1500s, the disease would strike again. Each new outbreak brought fear, panic, and more deaths. There were around eight million deaths by 1347. There were 30 million by 1353. In the 300 years afterward, as many as 200 million people died. China had a population of about 125 million in 1328. The Black Death lowered that number to 90 million only 50 years later.

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