Bubonic plague: Carried by fleas on rats. Yersinia pestis bacteria. Symptoms: fever, swellings (buboes), death in days. 60-70% mortality if untreated.
Living conditions: Overcrowded houses, poor sanitation, rats everywhere. Perfect conditions for spread. Poor areas hit hardest.
What people THOUGHT: Miasma (bad air), God's punishment, planetary alignments. Nobody knew about germs — germ theory would not arrive for 200 years.
This deep dive covers What Caused the Plague? within The Plague of 1665 for GCSE History. Revise The Plague of 1665 in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 2 of 16 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for The Plague of 1665
What bacterium caused the bubonic plague that devastated London in 1665?
Approximately how many people died in London during the Great Plague of 1665?
Quick recall flashcards
What was miasma theory?
The dominant 17th-century belief that plague was caused by 'bad air' (miasma) from rotting matter. Led to useless responses: bonfires to purify air, posies of flowers, fumigation. The theory was completely wrong — plague was bacterial, spread by fleas on rats.
What were buboes?
Swollen, blackened lymph nodes (usually in groin, armpits, or neck) — the characteristic symptom of bubonic plague. The appearance of buboes triggered house quarantine. Death typically followed within 2-5 days; mortality without treatment was 60-70%.