The Great Plague, 1665
- Created by: MelMel
- Created on: 03-04-18 11:53
View mindmap
- The Great Plague, 1665
- Believed Causes
- Many still blamed God
- The position of the planets (evil planets aligning against the good ones) and the passing of 2 comets was another superstitious explanation
- Miasma (bad air) remained the most common 'scientific' explanation
- Imbalance of the four humours
- From the weekly Bills of Mortality some observers linked dirt to the plague realizing that the highest numbers of deaths were in the poorest parishes
- Treatment/prevention
- Bleeding with leaches
- Old medieval remedies using animals like snakes and scorpions to 'draw out the poison' were used
- People smoked and chewed tobacco to keep away the bad smelling air
- Make the victim sweat until the sores begin to rise and then apply alive pigeons cut in half onto the sores
- Putting a died toad on the chest once first symptoms were felt
- Animals were banned inside the city (London)-40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were killed
- Rotten food banned from sale to reduce the bad air
- Public prayers for forgiveness and mercy were organised
- Impacts
- Public health solutions
- Led to more organized approach to identifying and preventing spread
- From the weekly Bills of Mortality some observers linked dirt to the plague realizing that the highest numbers of deaths were in the poorest parishes
- Bodies were buried at night in mass graves called the plague pits
- The victims were locked up in a house with a watcher posted outside for 4o days, red cross painted on the doors and a message 'Lord have mercy on us'
- Fires were lit to remove the bad air
- Plays and other big gatherings were banned
- People were ordered to clean in front of their own houses
- 100,000 died in London
- Led to more organized approach to identifying and preventing spread
- Public health solutions
- Believed Causes
Comments
No comments have yet been made