Plagues4

At the time, nobody really knew what caused the Black Death outbreaks killing several people in London. So the civilians that weren't infected tried many different methods to stop and cure this horrible disease. According to __Eyewitness Shakespeare,__ the author wrote that some Londoners tried to protect themselves from the Plague by carrying pomanders, which are sweet smelling herbs such as lavender, sage, marjoram, and rosemary. People thought that there was a link to the Plague and the foul air in the city. Other people thought that the Plague was spread by touring companies of actors and that they had picked up the disease from other cities and towns. In the Plague of 1578, many people just fled from the cities and towns that had a great population that was affected. Even Queen Elizabeth moved to Windsor Castle. Then, Queen Elizabeth ordered physicians to produce cures and preventative medicine. These medicines obviously didn't work because the Plague returned once again in 1593. In 1593, doctors took a hot metal rod to burst swelling, called Buboes, that appeared in the armpits and groins of Plague victims. This was extremely painful and did little to help patients recover. So by now nothing was working but luckily the Plague disappeared until 1664.(28,29) According to James Giblin, author of __When Plague Strikes__, explains that in the Plague of 1664, 70,000 Londoners died. To try to stop this outbreak, the Lord Mayor of London came up with the idea to kill all cats and dogs because that's what they thought was causing the problem. So within days, 40,000 cats and dogs were killed. That ended up progressing the disease because that gave the rats more food. So when that didn't work, the London Board of Health believed, mistakely, that most cases of the disease were transmitted person to person, from infected to healthy. When someone was diagnosed as having the plague, the Board enforced a strict 40 day quarantine on the infected person's house. A large red cross was painted on the front door, warning healthy people not to go in and they even had guards patrol the house(47). As you might guess, living conditions in an infected house became unbearable. Sometimes friends even helped inhabitants escape the harsh conditions of an infected house. So many attempts were tried to stop this disease but as you can see, the tries were definitely to no avail. Now we know the Black Death was caused by blood sucking fleas that lived on rats that swarmed through the city's dirts streets. According to Timothy Biel, author of __The Black Death,__ explains (deleted) the cause of the Black Death. The cause of this disease remained a mystery until 1894. They found out that it can also be carried by the Y.Pestis bacteria. So it all works like this, when the bacteria gets into the flea's stomach, the bacteria multiplies so fast that it completely fills the flea's stomach. Their stomach is so full that the flea can no longer digest any food. So the flea gets so hungry it will bite anything, and when it bites a human the human can get the bacteria and become sick. So when the population of rats decreased, the rate of infected people to the Black Death decreased as well. According to the Black Death During Elizabethan Era website, they describe t he ,"symptoms associated with the disease are painful swellings of the lymph nodes. These symptoms of the deadly plague, would appear in the armpits, legs, neck, or groin. Victims also suffered a very high fever, delirium, the victim begins to vomit, muscular pains, bleeding in the lungs and mental disorientation. The illness also produced in the victim an intense desire to sleep, which, if yielded to, quickly proved fatal. It was no wonder that the Black Death or Bubonic Plague was so feared by the people of the Elizabethan era." At the time, the Plague could not be stopped and no matter what England tried, thousands of people were dieing. **Works Cited** Biel, Timothy. // The Black Death //. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1989. Print.
 * WHAT PLAGUES STRUCK ENGLAND AROUND THE TIME OF SHAKESPEARE? HOW WERE THE PLAGUES DEALT WITH? WHAT EFFECTS DID THE PLAGUE HAVE?** ** Answer prepared by Ian S. **  When Shakespeare was alive, a Plague took the lives of over 80,000 Londoners in 1563. This disease was the horrible Bubonic Plague or sometimes better known as the "The Black Death." This disease attained the name The Black Death because of the black spots that appear on the victims skin. After 1563, civilians that were still left alive thought this Pandemic was over but they were mistaken. According to Liam Miller and Evan Orr, authors of __Elizabethan England__, says that," the Black Death returned in 1578 and devastated England once again." It would then return in 1593. Then again in 1664.

Eye Witness, Books. // Shakespeare //. New York: Dorling KIndersley, 2002. 28-29.

Print. Giblin, James. // When PLague strikes //. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995. 47. Print.

"The Black Death Bubonic Plague during the Elizabethan Era." // William Shakespeare //. N.p., 2005. Web. 4 Apr 2010. .

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