The Great Plague 1665

• The Great Plague of 1665 was an epidemic, not a pandemic, centered on London
• The Great Plague of 1665 was caused by infected fleas causing Bubonic plague
• The Great Plague of 1665 was similar to the Black Death in being caused by infected fleas, but it had crucial differences
• The Great Plague of 1665 took place purely in London, not the whole of Europe
• The Great Plague of 1665 happened 300 years after the Black Death
• Early responses to the Great Plague of 1665 had similarities with responses to the Black Death
• Common beliefs and causes during the Great Plague of 1665

  • God's punishment
  • Bad air or miasma causing the disease
  • Contact with the dead causing the disease
  • Belief that cats and dogs were spreading the disease
• Responses to the Great Plague of 1665

  1. Prayer used to prevent the disease

  2. Bonfires lit in the streets to burn tar and replace bad air

  3. Dead buried outside the city to avoid contact

  4. Marking people's houses to prevent spread

  5. Spreading news of the plague by ringing a bell and calling out

  6. Publicly available gazettes with lists of the deceased

  7. Some people leaving the city to avoid the plague

  8. Killing of cats and dogs believed to spread the disease
• The occurrence of the plague doctor costume during the Great Plague of 1665 has been exaggerated
• Plague doctor costume

  • Beak with sweet-smelling herbs to combat bad air
  • Stick to ward off victims and check on the dead
  • Heavy gloves to avoid contact with victims
  • Long coat for further protection
  • Mask with glass eye holes for protection
• God's punishment is not so much covered here but bad air and miasma is very much being focused on here and prevention to try and keep it away from people
• The doctor has gone to great lengths to avoid direct contact with the dead and the disease
• Record keeping is getting more advanced in detail
• Reasons for deaths recorded

  • Bleeding to death
  • Execution
  • Rifing of the lights (lung condition)
  • Plague
• Plague accounted for 63,596 deaths up until the year ending the 19th of December 1665, showing the dreadful death toll of the Great Plague of 1665
• Burial and removal of the dead was important for preventing the spread of the disease
• Source A shows a 17th-century picture of plague victims being buried in a churchyard outside of London during the Great Plague
• The Lord Mayor of London created orders to combat the plague
• Orders to combat the plague

  • Street cleaning and rubbish collection
  • Restriction on large gatherings
  • Recording deaths
  • Closing infected houses marked with a cross
  • Arresting beggars
  • Appointing plague doctors
  • Clearing sewage into the river
  • Lighting bonfires
  • Guarding infected houses
  • Examining the dead for signs of plague
  • Stopping public entertainments
  • Banning and killing dogs, cats, pigs, and pigeons
  • Burying bodies after dark
• The Great Fire of London is believed to have finally finished the Great Plague
• The Great Plague of 1665 was possibly finished by the Great Fire of London in 1666
• There are two main interpretations about what ended the Great Plague
• Interpretation 1: The Great Plague of 1665 was ended by the Great Fire in 1666 by killing the rats carrying the plague and destroying unhealthy houses
• Interpretation 2: The Great Plague of 1665 was already dying out by the end of 1666, and the end of the plague and the fire was just a coincidence
• Evidence 1: Mortality records show a peak of 7165 plague deaths in London in the week beginning the 19th of September 1665, falling steadily over autumn and winter, with the king returning to the Palace of Whitehall on the 1st of February 1666
• Evidence 2: A graph showing the rate of plague deaths between 1665 and 1666, peaking around September 1665 and declining into 1666
• Evidence 3: Historian Adrian Tinniswood's account from 2004 showing that the plague was declining in London but still present, with 30 deaths attributed to plague on the 28th of August 1666
• The Great Fire of London did not have a significant impact on ending the Great Plague
• Plague deaths tended to happen in the poorest communities, while the Great Fire affected the wealthy areas, indicating living conditions played a significant role in the spread of the plague
• Around a fifth of London's population, approximately 100,000 people, died from the Great Plague in just seven months
• Scientific advances during the Renaissance period did not help stop the plague as the actual cause of the disease was still unknown, making it difficult to devise effective treatments and prevention methods