The Great Plague
Facts
Causes
Version Of Events
Symptoms
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Overall, the plague wiped out over 100,000 of the people of London.
The people of London began to notice the symptoms of the plague in the summer of 1664. Some say the germs that causes the plague were wiped out by the Great Fire Of London.
By July 1665, around 7,000 people were dying a week; this amount decreased in the cold winter, however.
The Great Fire Of London, which wiped out the germs that caused the plague, occurred on the 2nd Sep 1666 – 5th Sep 1666.
As it turned out, the fleas that rats carried held a germ which flourished in the dirty streets of London, and therefore spread to the people who lived there.
At the time, people were unsure what the cause of the plague was.
The people who fled the plague, carried the disease from place to place that they went.
People started to think that dogs and cats were carrying the germs on them, so they were ordered to be killed.
The king at the time, Charles II also fled in July 1665 with his courtiers to Hampton Court, and then to Oxford.
Many who had the money, such as doctors, merchants and lawyers fled London, terrified that they would catch the disease.
Parliament was postponed due to the King and MP's fleeing the city.
Watchmen would guard over households in which families were infected, making sure no-one went in or out and spread the plague.
Most people were not able to afford doctors, as they were very expensive, so there was no one to treat their illness.
Most people who lived in London didn't take very good care of themselves, or their personal hygiene, and so it was easier for the plague to contaminate them, particularly poorer people.
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As a result of the plague, London was not considered a healthy place to live.
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At the time of plague, England were at war with the Dutch, and the effect of the civil war, so it is possible that people were just too tired and weak after all the disruption to stand the plague.
Some historians of today have claimed that the germs originally came over from a bale of wool from Holland, infested with fleas.
Bubonic Plague
Other historians have pointed out that all trade with the Dutch had been forbidden after the war between them and the English.
The plague was especially bad in poorer areas of the city, which had more rats.
Not all doctors fled London, many stayed to treat the wealthier people of London, and apothecary owners also stayed to sell their remedies.
By December 1665, most who had fled, were returning to London as the cold seemed to have diffused
The famous nursery rhyme, 'Ring a Ring a Roses' was about the plague.
Cures
Septicaemia Plague
Pneumonic Plague
Huge boils in the armpits, neck, groin or under knee and elbow caps. Buoboes are balls of pus, which grow as the illness gets more prominent.
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fever and chills
seizures, fits
fuzzy toung
awful breath
weakness and headaches
agony
diarrhoea
bleeding
skin turning black
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This was the main plague that dominated England in 1666.
nausea and vomiting
People who caught this plague, died within a day.
This was an airborne disease; the germs lie in the air.
Caught by sneezing.
weakness
bloody sputum (saliva and mucus or pus from the lungs)
trouble breathing
chest pain
What People Believed to Be Effective in 1666
Effective Cures
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Fires in the streets which people believed to purify the air
Prayers and daily worship
People would drill holes in their head which they thought would release evil spirits