The Great Plague

The Causes of the Great Plague

The Great Plague was caused by the bacteria called yersinia pestis, which was carried by fleas. It spread very quickly in the unhygienic conditions of Early Modern London, where the streets were dirty, and people lived very close together.

Fleas were very common and were abundant on household animals like cats and dogs. Rats, in particular, were carriers of the plague not just around cities but also travelled easily on ships.

Early Modern Theories

Unfortunately, the lack of medical advancement in this era meant that people still had no idea what really caused the plague.

Most people believed that the plague was caused by miasma.

Fig. 1 - A flea such as this would have spread the plague around 17^th-century London

The Great Plague Symptoms

The most common symptoms of the plague were:

• Headache.
• Fever.
• Weakness.
• Swollen lymph nodes, known as Buboes.
• Coughing blood.
• Vomiting.
• Light intolerance.
• Dizziness.

Overall, it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience and often proved fatal!

Cures and Preventative Measures

Given the lack of a concrete germ theory during this period, there were various cures and preventative measures based mainly on the miasma concept.

Cures

Let's examine the cures first.

Sweating Out

One such cure was to 'sweat out' the disease. Essentially, the victims would be wrapped up in layers and layers of clothing or blankets so that they would sweat. It was thought that the disease-causing miasma would leave the body within the sweat and therefore cure the person.

Plague Water

Plague water was a mixture of wine and herbs that was thought to be able to cure the plague. It contained around 22 herbs, including sage, rue, and sorrel. The herbs were steeped in white wine and brandy, then the mixture was distilled and bottled.

Whilst the alcohol in the mixture might have had some antibacterial effects, it is unlikely they had any real impact on the survival or recovery of a plague victim.

Transference

The theory of miasma meant that people thought that disease could enter through the skin as well as be breathed in. Therefore, it made sense to them that the disease could be removed through the skin. This led to a rather innovative new cure that involved strapping live animals, usually chickens, to the plague buboes in the hope that the disease would transfer to the different living creatures.

Needless to say, this was not very effective!

Prevention

People realised that trying to cure the plague was generally quite hopeless. Therefore, they took measures to ensure they never caught it in the first place.

The rich were able to leave the city and go to the countryside to escape the infection, but most people could not afford to do this.

People hung herbs around their homes to stop the miasma from entering and kept fires burning to try and clean the air.

Doctors also recommended smoking as a way to prevent the plague as they thought the strong smell would 'scare away' the miasma.

Interestingly, syphilis, a very common sexually transmitted infection, also caused buboes on the skin, so people thought the two were related. From this, they thought that catching syphilis would stop you from catching the plague!

Government Intervention

One aspect of this outbreak of the plague that makes it stand out was the fact that the government played a big role in trying to stop the spread of the plague. Previously, governments had barely intervened in matters of public health.

Charles II' Instructions

The king at the time of the plague was Charles II. He actually issued advice that people should follow to avoid the plague. This advice included:

• The introduction of quarantine for infected people.
• The banning of large gatherings of people (e.g. in theatres).
• No rotting food was to be left on the streets.
• The placing of fires in streets to clear miasma.
• Poor relief for infected villages.
• No stranger was allowed to enter a home without a certificate of health.
• Only a minimal number of alehouses were allowed to remain open.

If you think about it, this measure is similar to modern coronavirus advice.

Culling of Animals

Another of the government's orders was that certain animals should be culled to try and stop the spread of the disease.

Although they didn't understand the full truth of how the plague was caused and how it spread, they knew that animals were dirty and could carry miasma. A similar phenomenon has occurred in the modern day with mad cow disease and government-sanctioned culling campaigns.

Cats and dogs were the focus of the cull. An estimated 40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were culled to try and prevent the spread of the plague.

The Impact of the Great Plague

The Great Plague ended up taking the lives of 15-20% of London's population. There were around 69,000 recorded deaths although experts believe that this figure was actually closer to 100,000. It had been swift and deadly in its impact, only lasting around a year.

Ending of the Great Plague

The outbreak was brought under control by another devastating event in 1666 - the Great Fire of London.

However, the rebuilding of London after the fire had an inadvertent effect on public health. Streets were made wider and houses were built further apart. Now, people were not living so close together, so the disease could not spread so quickly.

Equally, houses started to be built out of bricks, rather than wood, which meant that they were better insulated (warmer) and so kept people healthier.

Fig. 3 - Tankard depicting the Great Plague

The Great Plague: Summary

In many ways, the response to the Great Plague and other plagues of the seventeenth century heralded a modern governmental response. The situation was viewed as serious, even by the king who moved to Oxford, despite the lack of concrete medical knowledge. Measures including culling underline this notion. The diligence with which the authorities responded is certainly comparable to modern pandemics, even considering the more extreme method detailed below.

There are also parallels to be drawn with how the elite behaved, given the fleeing from the city and the comparable breaking of rules by Boris Johnson's government. The financial element is also interesting, although quarantines were portrayed as life-saving, they resulted in the needy being unable to work. There was no furlough scheme and the most vulnerable had to rely on their parish for food and medicine.