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Article: The Black Death.(14th-century bubonic plague epidemic in Europe)(special report)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- October 31, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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One of the worst plagues in history was the Block Death. Between 1347 and 1351, this form of bubonic plague killed an estimated 75 million people from Italy to Norway.
The plague was brought from the Middle East by sailors in ships. Once ashore, it spread rapidly. Accordingly to one eyewitness, victims died a horrible death:
"Those infected felt a pain throughout their whole bodies . . . then developed in their thighs and upper arms a boil . . . This infected the whole body so far that the patient violently ...