The History of the Black Death

In our book Return of the Black Death (see below) we have assembled all the other overwhelming pieces of evidence that show that bubonic plague was certainly not responsible for the plagues of Europe and we summarise some of them here:

(1) The Black Death moved remarkably rapidly – from Sicily to the Arctic Circle in less than three years and it spread over an area of 7 million square kilometres. Many of the subsequent plagues jumped over 300 km. This is in complete contrast to an epidemic of bubonic plague which moves very slowly; the black rat has a home range of 100 metres.

(2) Flea reproduction was impossible in the climatic conditions of northern Europe.

(3) There were two authentic plague epidemics in Iceland in the fifteenth century, which persisted through the freezing conditions of winter. Rats did not arrive on the island until hundreds of years later and the conditions were inimical for flea activity.

(4) The brown rat did not arrive in Europe until 60 years after the plagues had disappeared. There is strong evidence that the black rat was not present in rural England.

(5) The case mortality in the Black Death was 100% whereas only about 40% of humans infected with Yersinia pestis die if not treated. Consequently, the total mortality recorded in an epidemic of haemorrhagic plague was very much greater (usually at least 10-fold) than in an outbreak of bubonic plague.

(6) The 40-day quarantine for the plague was completely successful for 300 years.

(7) The plagues were recognised as a directly infectious disease and it was established that it was not safe to come within 4 metres of an infected person.

(8) There is good evidence from molecular biology that haemorrhagic plague was a virus that (like HIV) entered blood cells via specific entry ports on their surface termed CCR5 receptors. The bacterium Yersinia pestis cannot use these receptors.