What kind of disaster did the plague bring to mankind?

The Black Death is one of the deadliest plagues in human history.

It is generally believed that it is caused by a bacterium called plague.

But recently, some people think that this is caused by other diseases.

The origin of plague has caused widespread controversy among experts.

Some historians believe that the Black Death began in China or Central Asia in the 1920s and 1930s.

In the next few years, it was brought to Crimea in southern Russia by businessmen and soldiers.

1In the 1940s, the epidemic spread from Crimea to Western Europe and North Africa.

The Black Death caused 75 million deaths worldwide, including 25 million to 50 million deaths in Europe.

One symptom of the Black Death is that there are many black spots on the patient's skin, so this special plague is called "Black Death".

For people infected with this disease, painful death is almost inevitable, and there is no possibility of cure.

The pathogen that causes plague is carried by fleas hidden in the fur of black mice.

In the14th century, there were many black mice.

Once the disease occurs, it will spread quickly.

From 1348 to1350,25 million Europeans died of the Black Death.

However, the epidemic did not stop there.

In the next 40 years, this happened again and again.

65438+ Before the plague bacteria broke out again in the 1920s, it had been lurking in the Gobi desert in Asia for hundreds of years, and then it spread rapidly with the blood in fleas on rats, and spread from China to Central Asia and Turkey along the caravan trade route, and then it was taken to Italy and entered Europe by ship.

The dense population in Europe has become a powder keg for this disease.

In three years, the Black Death ravaged the whole European continent and then spread to Russia, resulting in the death of nearly one third to half of the Russian population.

2. The third plague epidemic (1885- 1950s)

The third plague epidemic refers to a great plague that started in 1855 in Yunan Province, China.

This global epidemic is famous for its rapid spread and wide spread.

The plague spread to all inhabited continents. After it first spread from Yunnan to Guizhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Fuzhou and Xiamen, the death toll in these places reached 6.5438 million.

The plague in southern China also spread rapidly to India, from 1900 to San Francisco, Europe and Africa, and from 10 to more than 60 countries in 77 ports.

In India and China alone, more than 654.38 million people died from this plague.

According to the data of the World Health Organization, the parade lasted until 1959, and the number of people who died of plague in the world was reduced to about 200.

The characteristics of this epidemic are that the epidemic areas are mostly distributed in coastal cities and nearby densely populated residential areas, and there are also epidemics among livestock.

Almost all Chinese and foreign scholars believe that the plague in World War III originated in Yunnan, which was the plague focus of ancient rodents, but they all assert that there is no natural plague focus in Yunnan, and the plague in Yunnan is imported.

In other words, it was introduced directly from India and Myanmar.

However, in 1974, plague workers in Yunnan isolated Yersinia pestis from Apodemus sinensis in Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province, which confirmed the existence of natural foci in western Yunnan, and scholars called it Miledu China foci in the longitudinal valley of western Yunnan, which provided further scientific basis for the third plague epidemic.

Nowadays, plague is very rare, but it has not completely disappeared, because it will still spread in rats and mice, and it will spread to people as soon as possible.

In 1980s, plague was reported every year in Africa, Asia and South America.

1996 The plague that broke out in India has also become a major news in the world.

At present, about 1000 to 2000 people are infected with plague every year.

Even in the United States, more than 10 people are infected with plague from wild rodents every year, and 1/7 patients die.

Although plague is not incurable and easy to control, the shadow left by historical tragedy is hard to eliminate, and it is still regarded as the most horrible disease by many people.

3. Justinian plague (54 1-542)

Justinian plague refers to the first large-scale plague that broke out in the Mediterranean world from 54 1 to 542, which caused extremely serious losses.

However, the plague destroyed the Byzantine Empire to a great extent, and its extremely high mortality rate caused the population of the Byzantine Empire to drop obviously, the labor force and the army to decrease sharply, the normal life order was seriously destroyed, and it also had far-reaching social negative consequences, which also had a far-reaching impact on the historical development of the Byzantine Empire, the Mediterranean and Europe.

After the 4th century AD, the once prosperous Roman Empire gradually split into two parts: East and West.

The emperors of Byzantine Empire in the far east have always regarded themselves as the orthodox heirs of the Roman Empire, so they have been trying to recover lost ground, reunify the Roman Empire and reproduce their former glory.

In the 6th century, Justinian, the emperor of Byzantine Empire, decided to take action to realize this dream.

Thus, Justinian launched a conquest war against the western Mediterranean world in 533 AD.

However, just as he swept across North Africa and conquered Italy, and was about to reappear the glory of the Roman Empire, an unprecedented plague came unexpectedly, which dashed the dream of reviving the Eastern Roman Empire.

In 54 1 year, the plague broke out in Egypt, a territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, and then quickly spread to the capital Constantinople and other areas.

There were many strange and horrible scenes at that time: when people talked to each other, they couldn't start shaking and then fell to the ground; When people are shopping, standing there talking or counting change, death will come unexpectedly.

The poor people sleeping on the street were the first to be infected with the plague. At the worst of the plague, 5,000 to 7,000 people died in one day, and even tens of thousands of people died unfortunately.

In extreme fear, officials had to report to Justinian that the death toll soon exceeded 230,000, and there were not enough burial sites. Bodies had to be piled up in the street, and the whole city smelled of them.

Justinian himself was almost infected with the plague. In fear, he ordered the construction of many huge graves that could bury tens of thousands of bodies, and recruited workers to dig holes to bury the dead with heavy money to stop the further spread of the plague.

As a result, a large number of bodies, men, women and children, covered nearly 100 floors and were buried together.

The plague killed 40% of the residents of Constantinople.

It raged for half a century until14 of the Roman population died of the plague.

The famine and civil strife caused by the plague completely shattered Justinian's ambition and weakened the Eastern Roman Empire to the point of collapse.

4. The Great London Plague (1665- 1666)

The Great London Plague refers to a large-scale plague that occurred in England from 1665 to 1666.

In this plague, 75,000 to10,000 people died, more than one-fifth of the total population of London at that time.

It was historically identified as a large-scale black death caused by bubonic plague, and Yersinia pestis was infected by people through fleas.

1665 this infectious disease is the last large-scale outbreak of bubonic plague in England.

There are two theories about the source of the plague.

One is from France. 1665 In April, two French sailors fainted at the intersection of Trulli Street and Longacre in West End of London. Later, the virus they carried caused widespread infection.

Another theory is that the plague virus comes from the Netherlands, and this disease has spread locally in the Netherlands since 1599.

St Gilles parish in London was the first area to be hit by the plague.

From the end of 1664 to the beginning of 1665, there had been cases there, but it was not until the spring of 1665 that the disease spread rapidly on a large scale due to the massive increase of population and the sharp deterioration of sanitary conditions.

By July 1665, the plague had spread all over London.

At that time, King charles ii and his family were forced to leave London for Oxfordshire, but the mayor and counselor were still sticking to their posts.

Some clergy, doctors and pharmacists were busy all summer.

The streets are full of doctors in charge of plague, although many of them have no licenses.

Because the plague spread very fast, people had to block the houses where patients lived and draw a red cross outside the closed door, which read "God bless". No one is allowed in or out.

Only during a limited time every day will food and water be sent out through the window by specialized personnel.

Thousands of patients died tragically under such harsh conditions, and at most, there were no fewer than ten thousand deaths in a week.

By the beginning of September, the bustling city of London had completely turned into a silent dead city.

All the shops are closed, there are few pedestrians in the street, and the roadside is covered with lush weeds.

In this city, the only job that can break the silence from time to time is to transport bodies.

Every night, the corpse truck "Gollum, Gollum!" The sound of wheels and tragic cars are creepy.

At first, the burial work only took place in the middle of the night. Later, there were so many dead people that they had to do it day and night.

The bodies of the deceased were scattered on the corpse trucks and transported to burial pits all over the country.

There, the workers in charge of burying the body covered their faces, rang the doorbell and said, "Rest in peace!" " "Hurriedly pour the body into the pit, cover it with thin soil and leave in a hurry.

Records show that the number of deaths in London has continuously increased from 1000-2000 per week to 1665 in September, with an average of 7000 deaths per week.

In late autumn, the situation was controlled to a certain extent.

By February 1666, the city was considered safe enough to welcome the king.

At the same time, the plague spread to France because of business dealings with the European continent.

From then on, until September 1666, the plague was still moderately prevalent.

On September 2nd and 3rd, a fire broke out in London, which destroyed most of the infected houses. This is the beginning of improvement.

Another possible reason is that most infected people have died.

Since then, the city of London has been rebuilt on the basis of the fire and reborn after this plague.

5. American plague (16th century)

Before the arrival of Europeans, there were 4 million to 5 million indigenous people living here, most of whom died in the decades of16th century. Some historians even call it "the greatest genocide in human history".

However, the most direct killer who killed Indians was not the guns of Europeans, but the plague they brought.

By the time Columbus arrived in the New World, Europeans had experienced fatal infectious diseases many times, and also found a cure for some infectious diseases.

However, America was isolated from Eurasia for a long time before, and Indians were almost completely isolated from these diseases.

After Columbus's first trip to America, European diseases began to spread to the New World.

Mumps, measles, smallpox, cholera, gonorrhea and yellow fever, which Europeans have long adapted to, are extremely fatal to Indians because their immune systems are almost immune, especially measles and smallpox.

Therefore, even though the Aztecs and other Central American natives had walls that Europeans could not break, they were defeated by foreign plagues.

The plague destroyed the Aztec.

152 1 year, when the army of Mexican colonists began to besiege the fortress of the indigenous Aztecs in Mexico, they met with tenacious resistance and the attack was repelled again and again.

The Spanish, who were badly hit, thought that the Aztecs would take the opportunity to launch a deadly counterattack, but the troops in the castle were slow to move.

This gave the Spaniards time to breathe. On August 2 1 day, they launched a new offensive, but they met no resistance.

The situation in the castle made them unbelievable: there were dead bodies everywhere, and the smell of dead bodies rotting everywhere. A force more deadly than the Spanish army swept through the city, and that was the plague.

Some people once thought that backward weapons and technology made American Indians lose to western colonists.

Because in the traditional concept, the advanced weapons of Europeans have always been the key to their victory, but the western muskets at that time were not advanced.

Indians soon discovered that although muskets were powerful, it was not easy to aim at them, and their fear of new weapons disappeared.

And the long-range power of Indian bows and arrows is not inferior.

The Inca culture in Latin America reached its peak in the15th century. They built fields, had a clear social division of labor, and created a prosperous economy. Their knowledge of astronomy and geography is enough to surprise modern people.

However, such a plague has made such a not backward race on the verge of extinction in just a few decades.

In fact, the spread of infectious diseases in Europe completely exceeded the speed of colonists advancing to the American continent, and most Indians who learned of the arrival of Europeans from coastal residents were infected with new diseases.

Therefore, when the colonists arrived in Chile in the 1920s of 16, the Inca civilization here had been hit hard by smallpox, and almost all members of the royal family died of the plague.

The new battle for the throne split the whole country in two, which gave the Spaniards an opportunity.

Resistance to disease was also the reason why the plague prevailed at that time.

Infectious diseases are mostly mutated from animals, first spread to people, and then spread among human groups.

Because Europe has a long agricultural history and a large number of livestock, frequent contact with germs has formed adaptability for thousands of years; On the other hand, Indians are not. The underdevelopment of agriculture makes them congenital lack of experience in contact with livestock. Their bodies seldom encounter this germ, so they have no immunity at all, so they are defeated in the face of smallpox.

On the other hand, Africans have similar immune system and resistance because of their earlier contact with Europeans.

The spread of disease can also be two-way.

At that time, the only disease introduced into Europe from America was syphilis, which claimed the lives of a large number of Europeans.

6. Milan plague (1629–1631)

From 1629 to 163 1, a series of plagues broke out in Italy, usually called Milan plague.

Including rumba and Venice, the plague killed about 280 thousand people.

Milan Plague is the last plague among all epidemics after the Black Death.

1629, German and French soldiers brought infectious diseases to mantua.

During the Thirty Years' War, the Venetian army was infected with this disease. When they retreated to north-central Italy, they spread the disease to the local people.

At that time, the total population of Milan was 6.5438+0.3 million, and the number of people who died of illness in this plague was as high as 60,000.

7. The plague of Athens (430- 427 BC)

From 430 BC to 427 BC, there was a great plague in Athens, nearly 1/2 people died, and the whole Athens was almost destroyed.

Some experts believe that this epidemic is a plague.

The plague in Athens was a devastating infectious disease, which attacked the whole cities of ancient Greece and Rome.

The Greek historian Thucydides described the plague that destroyed Athens like this.

"Strong and healthy people are suddenly attacked by a severe high fever. Their eyes are red, just like spraying flames. Their throats or tongues begin to congest and emit unnatural stench. They are very thirsty because of vomiting and diarrhea. At this time, patients' physical pain and inflammation turn into ulcers, and they can't sleep or endure the touch of the bed. Some patients wandered naked in the street, looking for water to drink until they fell to the ground and died.

Even dogs died of this disease, crows and vultures who ate human bodies lying everywhere died, and those who survived either lost their fingers, toes and eyes or lost their memories. "

8. The "Antony Plague" in ancient Rome (A.D.164-180)

The "Antony plague" in ancient Rome was caused by infection.

According to historical records, the symptoms of this infectious disease are: severe diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat, ulcer, high fever and hand fever, gangrene or gangrene, unbearable thirst and skin pus.

Soldiers who fought in the Near East returned to the Roman Empire, bringing smallpox and measles to the people of Antony.

Infectious diseases killed two Roman emperors.

The first is Lucius Verus, who died of illness in 169, and the second is his successor, Kyle? Aurelio? /kloc-The emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 0/80 years ago was also doomed to be infected.

The plague broke out again nine years later.

According to the statistics of Dioka, a Roman historian, 2,000 people died of illness in Rome at that time, equivalent to a quarter of those infected.

The total death toll is estimated to be as high as 5 million.

In some places, the plague killed a third of the total population and greatly weakened the Roman army.

The plague also had a great influence on the society and politics of the Roman Empire, especially in the field of literature and art.

The remains in the pit above are the bones of victims of infectious diseases, which is shocking.

At that time, it was the second year of the Peloponnesian War, and the victory of Athens was just around the corner.

It is said that plague was introduced into Athens from Piraeus, a port city in Athens and a major source of food and daily necessities.

Sparta and some parts of the eastern Mediterranean have also been attacked by diseases.

This plague was revived twice in the winter of 429 BC and 427 BC.

Modern historians disagree that plague was the reason why Athens lost in the Peloponnesian War.

However, it is generally believed that the defeat of the war paved the way for Macedonia's victory, and finally, the Roman Empire was established.

According to historical records, plague broke out in various forms, including typhoid fever, smallpox, measles and toxic shock syndrome.

9. Marseilles plague (1720–1722)

1720, Marseille was hit by a plague, which was the worst disaster in the city's history and one of the worst plagues in Europe at the beginning of 18 century.

1720, a plague broke out in Marseille, France, affecting the whole city and surrounding cities, causing 654.38+10,000 deaths.

The plague came and went quickly, and Marseille soon recovered from it.

In just a few short years, the economy recovered and developed rapidly, and trade expanded to the West Indies and Latin America.

By 1765, the population growth has recovered to the level before 1720.

This plague is not as destructive as the Black Death in14th century.

10, Black Death in Moscow (177 1 year)

The first sign of plague in Moscow was at the end of 1770, and it became an epidemic in the spring of 177 1.

At that time, the government took a series of measures, such as setting up isolation zones, destroying contaminated property and closing public bathrooms.

The great plague caused great panic and anger among the citizens.

The whole city's economy is paralyzed, mainly because many factories, markets, shops and administrative buildings have been closed.

Then there is a serious food shortage, which leads to the lower and lower living standards of most Moscow people.

In order to avoid the plague, nobles and rich people left Moscow in succession.

1771September17 in the morning, about 1000 people once again gathered at the entrance of spassky, demanding the release of captured anti-government militants and the elimination of isolation.

The army tried to disperse the crowd, but failed. In the end, it can only suppress the riots again.

About 300 people were imprisoned.

On September 26th, a government official led by Carracin orlov was sent to Moscow to restore social order.

In order to alleviate the impact of the plague, the government took some measures, such as providing jobs for citizens and distributing food to them, which finally calmed the dissatisfaction of the people in Moscow.

The rapid end of this plague is not unrelated to the tough measures taken by the French government.

The government stipulates that Marseille citizens will be sentenced to death if they have any contact or communication with people in Provence and other places.

In order to strengthen isolation, a plague wall was also built.

Look at the damage caused by the plague here.