Black+Death

The **Black Death** was one of the most devastating [|pandemics] in [|human history], peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Thought to have started in China, it travelled along the [|Silk Road] and had reached the [|Crimea] by 1346. From there, probably carried by [|Oriental rat fleas] living on the [|black rats] that were regular passengers on [|merchant ships], it spread throughout the [|Mediterranean] and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60 percent of Europe's population, reducing the [|world's population] from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400.

A scene showing [|monks], disfigured by the plague, being blessed by a [|priest]. England, 1360–75
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