The Black Death (1346-1353)
The Black Death (1346-1353) was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, killing an estimated 25-50 million people across Eurasia and North Africa -- 30-60% of Europe's population. Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the plague traveled from Central Asia along trade routes to Crimea, then by ship to the Mediterranean. Its catastrophic demographic toll shattered feudalism, triggered peasant revolts, sparked anti-Semitic persecutions, and reshaped the economic and religious foundations of Europe.
Events
Plague Emerges in Central Asia
The Yersinia pestis bacterium emerges in Mongolia, possibly passed to humans by marmot hunters. The deadliest outbreak strikes the Mongol capital of Sarai. Mongol armies carry the plague westward to the Black Sea region.
Mongol Siege of Caffa
The Mongol army under Janiberg besieges the Genoese outpost of Caffa in Crimea. When plague ravages the Mongol ranks, they catapult infected corpses over the city walls in an early instance of biological warfare. Genoese survivors flee by ship, carrying the plague to the Mediterranean.
Location: Caffa, Crimea
Plague Arrives in Sicily
A Genoese ship from Caffa docks in Messina, Sicily, with the crew barely alive. The plague kills half of Messina's population and spreads to mainland Italy, where one-third of the population is dead by summer 1348.
Location: Messina, Sicily
Plague Reaches Marseille, France
A Caffan ship docks in Marseille, bringing the plague to France. It spreads rapidly through Provence and up the Rhone Valley, reaching Paris by summer 1348. Avignon loses half its population.
Location: Marseille, France
Second Plague Strain Enters Genoa
A different strain of Yersinia pestis enters Europe through Genoa aboard another fleeing ship. The Genoese attack and drive away the ship, but the infection still spreads. Italy now faces two simultaneous plague strains.
Location: Genoa, Italy
Anti-Semitic Massacres Sweep Europe
Rumors spread that Jews caused the plague by poisoning wells. Across Germany, France, and Switzerland, Jewish communities are systematically annihilated. In Strasbourg (Feb 14, 1349), 2,000 Jews are burned alive. King Casimir III of Poland offers safe haven, spurring Jewish migration eastward.
Location: Strasbourg, Mainz, Rhine region
Plague Arrives in England
The plague enters England through the port of Melcombe Regis in Dorset, carried by a ship from Calais. Fleeing inhabitants carry it inland. The disease reaches London by October 1348 after killing King Edward III's daughter, Princess Joan.
Location: Dorset, England
The Flagellant Movement
Groups of religious zealots known as Flagellants appear in Germany and spread across Europe. Companies of 50-500 hooded, half-naked men march through towns, thrashing themselves with spiked lashes as public penance. The movement, also marked by violent anti-Semitism, is condemned by the Pope and disappears by 1350.
Location: Germany, Northern Europe
Plague Reaches Scandinavia
A ship carrying English wool arrives in Bergen, Norway, introducing the plague to Scandinavia. It spreads through Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Greenland's Norse settlements are devastated and never recover.
Location: Bergen, Norway
Plague Spreads into Russia
The Black Death reaches Russia, spreading through Novgorod, Smolensk, and Kiev. The pandemic has now traversed Eurasia from China to the British Isles. By 1353, the first great wave subsides, having killed an estimated 25-50 million people.
Location: Russia
Social and Economic Transformation
The catastrophic depopulation causes severe labor shortages, giving surviving peasants unprecedented bargaining power. Wages rise, feudal obligations erode, and serfdom declines across Western Europe. Governments attempt wage freezes (Ordinance of Labourers, 1349), sparking peasant revolts. The crisis accelerates the end of feudalism and reshapes European society.
Location: Europe