The Black Death ( 1346-51): 

What’s it between China, Italy & Pandemics 

Nearly 700 years ago the world had witnessed one of the most devastating pandemics in human history which quite eerily had its origin in Central Asia/China and made its way to Europe through Italy before spreading to Spain, France and finally Birtain. 

The Black Death or the Great Bubonic Plague or the Black Plague, as it was known to be, resulted  in the death of estimated 75 to 150 milion people in Eurasia during 1346-51.

From Asia, it was carried east and west along the Silk Road by the Mongol armies and traders. It was most likely carried by fleas living on the black rats that traveled on Genoese merchant ships bringing the plague by ship into Sicily in Italy and the south of Europe from where it spread to the rest of Europe. 

The plague is believed to have wiped out nearly half of the population of the city of Florence in Italy. It is also estimated that in the span of four-five years, the plague wiped out nearly 50 million people in Europe bringing down the population of Europe from 80 million to 30 million. 

The bacterium Yersinia Pestis, which results in several forms of plague (septicemic, pneumonic and, the most common, bubonic), is believed to have been the cause of the Black Death plague. Yersinia Pestis is commonly present in populations of ground rodents in Central Asia. 

The plague shattered governments, undermined the authority of the Catholic church and stoked inflation in Europe. 

An unintended consequence was the launch of  European era of exploration and colonisation as now the Europeans started taking to sea voyages. Earlier, Europeans had shunned long sea voyages because of high mortality rate. But now that mortality rates on land were also so high, they took the risk of embarking on sea voyages and the rest is, as they say, history.

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