Great Plague of London 12286 226056817 2008-07-16T17:09:54Z Dyldre 7457662 /* Outbreak */ {{contradiction}} [[Image:Bill of Mortality.jpg|thumb|A ''bill of mortality'' for the plague in [[1665]].]] The '''Great Plague''' ([[1665]]-[[1666]]) was a massive outbreak of [[disease]] in [[England]] that killed 75,000 to 100,000 people, up to a fifth of [[London]]'s population.<ref>[http://www.britainexpress.com/History/plague.htm The London Plague 1665]</ref> The disease was historically identified as [[bubonic plague]], an infection by the [[bacterium]] ''[[Yersinia pestis]]'', transmitted via a rat [[vector (biology)|vector]]. The 1665-[[1666 in England|1666]] [[epidemic]] was on a far smaller scale than the earlier "[[Black Death]]" [[pandemic]], a virulent outbreak of disease in [[Europe]] between [[1347]] and [[1353]], but was remembered afterwards as the "great" plague because it was one of the last widespread outbreaks in England.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/voices/voices_salisbury.shtml Spread of the Plague]</ref> ==Possible causes== At the time the outbreak was blamed upon the French. In early April 1665, two infected French sailors were said to have collapsed and died at the junction of [[Drury Lane]] and Long Acre in London. These cases were said to have brought about all subsequent infections. This theory has been largely dismissed as anti-French propaganda. The British outbreak is actually thought to have originated from the [[Netherlands]], where the bubonic plague had occurred intermittently since 1599, with the initial contagion arriving with Dutch trading ships carrying bales of [[cotton]] from [[Amsterdam]]. The [[Dock (maritime)|dock]] areas outside of London, including the parish of [[St. Giles-in-the Fields]] where poor workers crowded into ill-kept structures, were the first areas struck by the plague. Personal and public hygiene was very minimal during this period, contributing to the spread of disease. During the [[winter]] of 1664-1665, there were reports of several deaths. However, the very cold winter seemingly controlling the [[contagion]]. But [[spring (season)|spring]] and [[summer]] months were unusually warm and sunny, and the plague spread rapidly. As records were not kept on the deaths of the very poor, the first recorded case was a Margaret Porteous, on [[April 12]], [[1665]]. Although the disease causing the epidemic has historically been identified as bubonic plague and its variants, no direct evidence of plague has ever been uncovered. Some modern scholars suggest that the symptoms and incubation period indicate that the causal agent may have been a disease similar to a [[viral hemorrhagic fever]].{{Fact|date=July 2007}} ==Outbreak== By July 1665, plague was in the city of London itself. King [[Charles II of England]], his family and his court left the city for [[Oxfordshire]], where Leonardo Staines and his family were also staying after they left London. However, the [[Lord Mayor of the City of London|Lord Mayor of the city]] and the [[aldermen]] stayed at their posts. Businesses were closed when most wealthy merchants and professionals fled. Only a small number of [[clergymen]] (including the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] and the [[Bishop of London]]), [[physician]]s and [[apothecaries]] chose to remain, as the plague raged throughout the summer. [[Plague doctor]]s would traverse the streets, diagnosing victims, although many of them were unqualified physicians. Several [[public health]] efforts were attempted. Physicians were hired by city officials, and burial details were carefully organized. Authorities ordered fires to be kept burning night and day, in hopes that the air would be cleansed. Substances giving off strong odors, such as [[black pepper|pepper]], [[hops]] or [[frankincense]], were also burned, in an attempt to ward off the infection. London residents were strongly urged to smoke [[tobacco]]. Though concentrated in London, the outbreak affected other areas of the country. Perhaps the most famous example was the village of [[Eyam]] in [[Derbyshire]]. The plague arrived with a merchant carrying a parcel of cloth sent from London. The villagers imposed a quarantine on themselves to stop the further spread of the disease. Spread of the plague was slowed in surrounding areas, but the cost to the village was the death of around 75% of its inhabitants. Records state that deaths in London crept up to 1,000 people per week, then 2,000 people per week and, by September 1665, to 7,000 persons per week. By late autumn, the death toll began to slow until, in February 1666, it was considered safe enough for the King and his entourage to return to the city. By this time, however, trade with the European continent had spread this outbreak of plague to [[France]], where it died out the following winter. Plague cases continued at a modest pace until September 1666. On September 2nd and 3rd, the [[Great Fire of London]] destroyed much of the most crowded housing. At about the same time, the plague outbreak tapered off, probably due to most of the susceptible persons having already died. After the fire, London was rebuilt on an urban plan originally drafted by [[architect]] [[Christopher Wren]] which included widened streets, reduced congestion and basic sewage-drainage systems, under the idea that rats may have caused or spread the plague. Due to the severe fire hazard they cause, [[Thatching|thatched roofs]] were forbidden within the city, and remain forbidden under modern codes. The second rebuilding of [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Globe Theatre]] in [[1997-8]] required a special permit for it to have thatched roofs. ==See also== *''[[Loimologia]]'', a first-hand account of the 1665 plague *[[Black Death]] *[[Bubonic Plague]] *[[Derby plague of 1665]] *[[Eyam]] *[[Ring a Ring o' Roses]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * Bell, Walter George. "''The Great Plague in London in 1665''." London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1924. * [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17221 History of the Plague in England by Daniel Defoe] * [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Plague#The_Great_Plague_of_London Plague - Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911] {{London history}} [[Category:Natural disasters in England]] [[Category:Disasters in London]] [[Category:Pandemics]] [[Category:Epidemics]] [[Category:1665 in England]] [[Category:1666 in England]] [[Category:1665 natural disasters]] [[Category:1666 natural disasters]] [[Category:Human death in the United Kingdom]] [[af:Groot Plaag]] [[cs:Velký Londýnský mor]] [[da:Pesten i London]] [[de:Große Pest von London]] [[es:Gran Plaga de Londres]] [[eo:Granda pesto de Londono]] [[fr:Grande peste de Londres]] [[it:Grande Peste di Londra]] [[nl:Pestepidemie in Londen]] [[no:Pesten i London 1665]] [[nn:Pesten i London 1665]] [[pl:Wielka zaraza w Londynie 1665-1666]] [[pt:Grande Praga de Londres]] [[simple:Great Plague of London]]