Some scientists believe that humanity will die not from a global cataclysm, war, technological disaster or a sharp warming of the climate, but from an epidemic that will destroy all life on the planet in just a few days. If it seems to you that this is impossible in principle, then turn to history. Over the entire period of human existence, epidemics have repeatedly reduced the world's population by at least half. And most often these were plague epidemics. In Russia, this deadly disease was also gathering its bloody harvest. Moreover, such outbreaks occurred more than once. The most famous plague epidemics raged in the world for four centuries, inspiring people with real horror. Even in the folklore of different peoples, the outbreaks of the disease were reflected, which indicates a huge imprint left in the memory of people. Today we will tell not only about the most famous epidemics in the history of mankind, but also about the disease itself, its pathogens and methods of prevention.
Epidemic and pandemic
All plague epidemics in the history of mankind had simply terrifying consequences: a sharp decline in the population, economic and cultural decline, general regression, and so on. If you look at the outbreaks of a deadly disease from this angle, then it is worth talking about them as pandemics. That's what they are called virologists professionally involved in the study of plague.
In history and science, an epidemic is understood as a general disease. So this word is translated from Greek and it means a disease that instantly spreads over a certain territory. Moreover, the number of victims significantly exceeds the average level. However, in the case of the most famous plague epidemics, we are talking about a pandemic.
This term can be explained as an outbreak of a disease that spans several states or even continents. It covers a large part of the population and is becoming widespread. Dealing with a pandemic is almost impossible, as well as eliminating the cause of its occurrence. Usually the disease fades on its own after a while. However, as practice shows, it can again erupt in a few years. That is why pandemics or epidemics of plague in Russia, Europe, Asia and Africa were cyclical. Sometimes they repeated after a couple of decades, and sometimes a whole century could pass between the flashes.
Today, in some countries, isolated cases of plague are found, but they do not become epidemics. Most often, the problem is limited to two or three patients who are under the control of epidemiologists and a virologist until they are cured.
In the Middle Ages, the treatment of plague was largely the lot of religious sects and scammers. And therefore, the disease quickly spread to the population and sometimes mowed entire provinces. We will talk about the reasons for this now.
Black Death
At the time of the plague epidemic in Russia or other countries, people talked about the fact that the Black Death came to their land. That’s exactly what the plague was called by so many countries, at least once affected by it. Today it’s hard to say where the name came from. Historians argue that in no written source, preserved from the early Middle Ages, no one calls the plague. What made people give a similar name to the disease?
There are two versions to this. According to one, the name “Black Death” appeared due to the incorrect translation of the phrase. In the original version, he meant death, taking away the darkness of the people. That is, after it remains blackness and emptiness. However, at the end of the Middle Ages, this name began to spread throughout the world and lost its meaning, turning into a specific name for a deadly disease that claimed millions of people.
But the second version explains the origin of the name of the plague from the huge swollen wounds that cover the patient's skin. They have a maroon shade and, as the disease develops, acquire a black color. As soon as a person is completely covered with black spots, he dies. As it seems to our contemporaries, this could well have served as the reason for giving the plague a sonorous name - Black Death.
If we talk about the rampant plague epidemics in Russia, then almost from the fourteenth century the disease was already called black death. This indicates that our ancestors knew very well about the plague itself, its clinical signs and the consequences that the disease led to. However, no one has managed to escape from it yet.
It is noteworthy that even today, cases of plague infection in almost half the cases are fatal. And this happens with a high level of modern medicine, which allows you to cure many diseases. Scientists still do not know why black death is so difficult to treat, although the bacterium - the causative agent of the plague, has long been known, as well as the mechanism of its effect on the human body.
What causes the plague?
Let's get it right. The most famous epidemics in human history have not always been associated with a rampaging plague. Although that’s what their people of the Middle Ages considered as such. The fact is that in those days there was no diagnosis of diseases and the category of plague included smallpox and other viral infections, which led to death in the vast majority of cases. However, modern scientists have carefully studied the burial of the dead from the alleged plague and were able to identify periods when it was the Black Death that reigned in Europe and other countries.
The first to identify the causative agent of infection was Alexander Yersen. He managed to identify the wand, which, getting on the mucous membranes or in the blood of a person, causes him a terrible disease - the plague. In honor of its discoverer, the wand was named Yersinia pestis. I want to clarify that the plague is not one disease, but a whole group. Its ancestor manifested itself in the fifth century BC, however, the symptoms and consequences of such epidemics were significantly different from what happens when Yersinia pestis is infected. In addition, the progenitor of most plague epidemics did not always end in death. In many cases, patients recovered and even acquired stable immunity.
But this is not the stick of Yersinia pestis, all the peoples of the world have experienced its destructive effects for many centuries. This bacterium freely spreads, remaining in the sputum, secretions and blood of the patient. In this form, it can be viable for several weeks and, at any opportunity, will find a new carrier for itself.
Even cold is not able to destroy this pathogen. If the corpses of infected people and animals were not burned, then after the winter, the stick also thawed with them. The only thing that can destroy Yersinia pestis is high temperatures. When dried, the bacterium also dies very quickly. Therefore, in the Middle Ages they tried to burn the corpses of the dead in order to at least somehow try to stop the Black Death walking through the cities and villages.
The main carrier of plague in the Middle Ages was considered a flea parasitizing on animals, and primarily on rodents. However, in dark times, she lived in humans, so the disease very quickly took the form of an epidemic. A flea could become infected with a wand by biting an animal or human. And in fact, and in another case, she became a peddler of the plague.
In addition to the flea species indicated by us, a flea that lived only on the human body could transmit the infection from person to person. She did not bite animals, so infection occurred only through human blood.
In the Middle Ages, any bite of an infected flea led to one hundred percent infection with plague, and, consequently, death. Prevention of plague in those days was not carried out, which further exacerbated the situation of the population.
Plague infection mechanism
Almost all plague epidemics in human history began in the same way. Once a flea enters the body, the plague bacillus begins to multiply actively in its stomach. In this case, forming a real lump, blocking the entrance to the esophagus. This does not allow the flea to satisfy its hunger, and it rushes absolutely at all warm-blooded, randomly and repeatedly biting them. And the fact that bacteria block the entrance to the stomach makes the insect constantly bite the contents of its stomach during a bite. Thus, Yersinia pestis enters the bloodstream of animals and humans, causing the onset of the epidemic.
It is noteworthy that the flea itself - the carrier of the disease, is very viable. It is free without food for a month and a half, and if necessary, can attack caterpillars or worms, sucking out juices from them. Almost all plague epidemics began among nomadic tribes, where fleas could travel by falling into the saddlebags of traders or into the luggage of travelers. Moving from one caravanserai to another, insects spread the infection, gradually turning the disease into a pandemic.
In addition to fleas, black rats were an active carrier of infection. These rodents always carried a huge number of fleas and exchanged them with other animals. Black rats were also able to travel. They were often crammed into military food supplies, merchants' caravans, and other suitable places. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that if at least one infected rat appeared in the city, then the disease would soon take on the scale of an epidemic.
Interestingly, the initial infection with black death in the fourteenth century was perfectly described in chronicles that have survived in Russia. The most famous plague epidemic, spanning several continents and raging for almost four centuries, began quite banal. It is believed that the marmot-marmot became its distributor. His fur was classified as valuable, and traders along the route of the caravan could not pass by the dead animals. They were cut right on the spot and put into bags, which were then sold to local merchants for a lot of money. Those, in turn, took them to large cities to markets for further resale and at the first opening of the bale, the fleas that were hungry during the trip threw themselves in all directions, constantly biting everyone who got in their way.
Causes of lightning spread of plague
Modern scientists believe that the epidemic could be stopped if it were not for a number of factors contributing to its spread. The main causes of the deadly disease epidemic include the following:
- Ecology. By the fourteenth century in Eurasia, the climate has radically changed. In place of warm and humid weather, contributing to high productivity, came the cold, alternating with prolonged rains. Plague epidemics were preceded by periods of droughts and heavy rains. As a result, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, famine came to Europe, which was felt by the population until the first quarter of the fourteenth century. All this significantly reduced the immunity of the population, which also underwent massive infections with leprosy, smallpox, pellagra and other infections.
- Socio-economic reasons. In addition to the famines and diseases that plagued people in the fourteenth century, military conflicts were added. Local wars raged on almost every continent, leading to poverty and vagrancy. The migration of people from one area to another is an excellent condition for the spread of disease. In addition, often in the besieged cities gathered a huge number of residents. There were so many of them that the smallest outbreak of infection instantly assumed a mass character. Do not forget about one of the traditions of wartime - to throw corpses of dead people into besieged cities. Often they were thrown into the water in order to poison the only source of drinking water going to the city.
- Hygiene. The modern man hardly even managed to stand next to a resident of the Middle Ages, exuding a strong and unpleasant odor. Monks instilled in society the concept of the sinfulness of caring for their own body. To wash and contemplate themselves in a naked form was considered a very serious sin, therefore even wealthy citizens and persons of royal blood were wary of hygiene procedures.
- Sanitary condition of cities. Residents of Europe had no idea about the sewage system and keeping the streets clean. Not only were they already mostly narrow and dark, but they were also cluttered with garbage from nearby houses. Sometimes it was even impossible to squeeze garbage through the mountains, then a special order introduced a cleaning order. However, cleanliness lasted no more than two days. The contents of night pots were also thrown onto the streets, blood was drained from slaughterhouses and other sewage. All this fell into the reservoirs from which water was taken for the needs of the city.
All of the factors listed by us together were favorable soil for the spread of any disease that quickly turned into an epidemic.
Plague symptoms
In written sources, many descriptions of the course of the disease have been preserved. Medieval scholars wrote that the first sign of the plague is a fever that could not be relieved. Those who were ill experienced increased irritability, unbearable pain, and in delirium some were often thrown out of windows.
It is believed that the plague primarily affected the nervous system, so increased excitability soon turned into depression. Then the patient began to complain of pain in the heart and cough. A few days later, bloody sputum began to stand out from the lungs. Doctors called it the last stage of the plague. On it, the body was covered with abscesses, fistulas, the tongue dried up, the urine turned black the same as blood.
In medieval sources, several varieties of the plague are mentioned with their own symptoms. It is known that in Constantinople, for example, the septic form prevailed, which was characterized by a quick fatal outcome in a few hours. In England and France, pulmonary and bubonic forms of the disease prevailed. The first was accompanied by hemoptysis, and the second caused abscesses - buboes, occurring primarily in the groin and armpits. The average life expectancy of patients was limited to three days.
Measures for the prevention of plague and its treatment
The medical knowledge of medieval scholars was closely intertwined with the philosophical teachings of the ancient and religious dogmas. Therefore, they were able to determine the true cause of the plague epidemic. Everywhere there were different theories that were popular in a given period of time. The most commonly used were two of them:
- The spread of "plague cattle." The followers of this theory suggested that some invisible organisms called “plague cattle” became a source of infection. You could get an infection by contacting one person with another. According to this version, the plague could be stopped only by isolating all the sick for a long time.
- Theory of "miasma". It originated in the days of the ancient Greeks and, in summary, is an assumption that the disease is caused by certain poisonous fumes released by the bowels of the earth or descending from heaven. The followers of this theory were convinced that the diseases were firmly attached to certain places. Of these, through the wind, "miasma" spread throughout other territories. A little later, there was an opinion that the plague could be infected due to the smell of decomposable bodies. Therefore, there was an idea about the special aroma of the plague, by which an epidemic can be predicted. However, what it should be like, in the Middle Ages no one knew.
Treatment of plague during the period of epidemics was practically not carried out. Most doctors limited themselves to recommendations that today seem very funny and ridiculous. For example, medieval doctors strongly advised to clean the infected air in homes and cities for the prevention of plague. To do this, put cups of milk in the rooms, raise spiders and launch birds, which during the flight were supposed to disperse the infection. For open spaces, herds of animals were used, they were driven along the streets of the city so that they breathed in all the infected air and let it out already in purified form.
Since it was believed that the plague was caused by smells, then, protecting itself from them, it was possible, according to many, to avoid infection.To this end, the townspeople carried bouquets of flowers, fragrant herbs or special balls made from a mixture of herbs and wax. It was recommended that goats be brought up in houses, and animal corpses be scattered across the streets. The most ridiculous is the advice to inhale the aromas of latrines and linger in them for as long as possible.
The most famous plague epidemics in the world
The epidemics of this disease in Russia were part of the global pandemics and approximately coincided with them in time intervals. Therefore, it is difficult to consider the situation in Russia separately from the situation in the world. If you study the epidemic from the moment the first one arose, then it should be noted that it arose even before our era. It entered world history under the name “Plague of the Philistines” and is described in detail in the Old Testament. From this period, epidemics regularly recur:
- Byzantium. In the middle of the sixth century, the plague originated in Constantinople and spread by merchants to other countries. From five to ten thousand people died every day from infection. Black death reigned in these places until the middle of the eighth century.
- Eleventh century. At this time, the plague ruled in Kiev and Egypt. The center of Russia then lost about ten thousand people, but the Egyptians considered their dead millions.
- The fourteenth century. If you describe the plague epidemics in Russia briefly, then we can say that this period was the beginning of terrible events that claimed the lives of a huge number of people. It was in the fourteenth century that the plague passed on almost all continents, the world's population declined by about sixty million people.
- Seventeenth century. At this time, the plague periodically arose in Europe.
- Eighteenth century. The death toll from the disease was again in the millions, and in Russia the plague epidemic in the 18th century turned out to be the bloodiest. Indeed, in the midst of the disease in Moscow there was also a riot, to the suppression of which government troops were involved.
- Mid nineteenth century. Scientists consider this pandemic to be the third and final. In the future, the world's population was faced with brief outbreaks of this disease. Epidemics were quickly suppressed, and they did not have time to cross the borders of countries and continents.
A brief description of the plague epidemics in Russia
In the 14th century, Russia first encountered the Black Death. The epidemic was so widespread that it was mentioned in almost all chronicles. She affected all major cities, and the number of corpses was so great that sometimes several bodies were put in a coffin at the same time.
In the fifteenth century, Black Death returned to Russia again. Moreover, the mortality from it was so high that there was no one to harvest in the fields, which led to hunger among the surviving residents of cities and villages. Since that time, the plague periodically arose in certain settlements, significantly reducing the population.
In the 16th century, the plague epidemic in Russia began in Pskov. From there, it quickly spread to other territories.
The plague epidemic in Russia in 1770-1774 is considered the most memorable. It caused the desolation of the territories and threw the country in development several decades ago.
The outbreaks of the plague epidemic in Russia in the 19th century were episodic in nature. In some provinces, mention of the plague occurred until the beginning of the twentieth century.
Facts about the epidemics in Russia
For the first time Russia faced plague in the epidemic in the middle of the fourteenth century. It is believed that the Black Death was brought to Pskov by merchants, from where it spread throughout Russian lands. In Pskov itself there were not enough coffins to bury the dead. And by the end of the epidemic, there were practically no survivors capable of interrupting the bodies of those who died of the plague. In order to protect the city from God's wrath, local residents called on the Novgorod archbishop. He held a prayer service, and died on the way back from the plague. In Novgorod, he was given a magnificent funeral, but this is how the infection got into the city.
At the time of the plague, however, in the eighty-seventh year of the fourteenth century it completely destroyed Smolensk. Only ten people survived. In the same period, the Black Death took place in Kolomna, Ryazan, Vladimir and other cities. The epidemic brought terrible desolation to Moscow, so for the dead they didn’t even make coffins. The living threw ten bodies into the pit and tried to dig as deep as possible. In parallel, the plague entered the Horde; it caused mass mortality and mortality of livestock. The epidemic again affected Pskov and Novgorod. In chronicles, the symptoms of the disease are often described in detail. Judging by them, we can assume that in these years a bubonic plague raged. The plague epidemic in Russia in the 14th century lasted approximately half a century.
The beginning of the fifteenth century was again marked by a terrible sea in Pskov and Smolensk. It lasted for seven years. For the first time at this time in the annals appeared information about rare survivors. However, most of the infected died on the third day.
After nine years of calm, the plague again made itself felt in the north of Russia. It went through almost all cities, residents in Rostov, Kostroma and Yaroslavl died in large numbers. If you refer to the annals, it turns out that the plague took a pulmonary and bubonic form. We can say that since that time the plague regularly appeared in cities and villages. After analyzing information from ancient chronicles, we can conclude that plague epidemics occurred every year. Most often, Pskov and Novgorod suffered from them. None of the epidemics has bypassed these cities.
In the sixth year of the sixteenth century, the plague began its journey across Russia again from Pskov. Prior to this, for twenty years, the disease was not heard and people gradually began to forget about the Black Death. The plague could not be stopped in the city for about three years, moreover, from Pskov it again penetrated to Novgorod. Here the consequences of the epidemic were simply monstrous - more than fifteen thousand people died in the fall months alone. Fifteen years later, in Pskov, they again started talking about the plague. People died in tens of thousands, but now the local prince put into practice new preventive measures designed to stop the epidemic. He ordered the construction of outposts on both ends of the streets, where there were sick people. This did not allow the infection to spread to other cities. The measure for the construction of outposts was very effective and it was adopted by many unit princes.
The plague epidemic in Russia 1770-1774 the population remembered for a long time in horror. The carriers of the disease were soldiers returning to their homes after the war with Turkey. They brought fleas already infected with a plague wand on their clothes and trophies. The first cases appeared in a hospital in Moscow, but the doctors did not pay attention in time to the buboes that appeared in the wounded in the groin. As a result, twenty-two people died.
Then the disease spread to the workers of the cloth factory. They began to die one by one, but the leadership hid these facts. When the truth came out, it was too late, even the closure of the factory could not stop the epidemic. In horror, the townspeople began to scatter to nearby towns and villages, thereby exacerbating the situation. Black Death regularly gathered its harvest in Moscow and other settlements. The authorities of the city determined to bury the corpses of the convicts, who began to rob and kill the surviving citizens. Along with the horror that came with the plague, social tension grew. In September, she led to a riot, the cause of which was the authorities' refusal to let the population into the church. Count Orlov managed to suppress the spontaneous uprising with a small military detachment. He also took a number of effective measures to stop the epidemic: he divided the city into sections, assigned doctors to them, imposed quarantine, opened small hospitals in each district, forbade the burial of infected corpses within the city, and so on. Gradually, the plague was stopped, but Moscow lost one hundred thousand inhabitants, which at that time amounted to exactly half of its population.
Since that time, plague outbreaks were local. They were short-lived, and losses never exceeded five thousand people.