2. Trouble in Asia  A mysterious illness first appears on the Mongolian Steppe in the 1340’s  It is lethal and rapid in its spread, wiping out entire villages in days, if not hours…  Mongol Armies travelling the Silk Roads in Central Asia spread the plague westward…

3. 1347: Arrival in Europe  The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague, is transmitted by fleas…  That infected rats...  That got onto ships…  That sailed from the Middle East…  To Byzantium…  To Italy…

4. The End of Days

5. End of Days  Almost 60% of the people infected died in Italy  The disease was so lethal that a common phrase was that an infected person “would have lunch with their family and dinner with their ancestors in paradise”  The population of Europe in 1347: 75 Million  1351: 40 Million

6. End of Days  In some towns, 500 people died EVERY DAY  The Nursery Rhyme “Ring Around the Rosy” deals with the Black Death  Jews were persecuted en masse and blamed for the disease  2/3 of the Population of Europe died