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The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. It spread from China to Europe in a very short time period. It decimated two thirds of the European population by 1356.
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The Black Death erupted in China and killed two-thirds of its population. Since China was known as one of the busiest world trading nations, it didn't take long before the plague spread to western Asia and Europe.
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The plague traveled along the Silk Road to the Black Sea.
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Merchants and other travelers were a big factor in moving the plague from China to Europe. The Silk Road was the main path the plague takes. Since productivity went down, it took awhile for the plague to reach the Black Sea.
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The plague broke out among the troops of the Kipchak Khan, who were besieging the Black Sea port of Kaffa. They catapulted plague infected bodies over the city walls into Kaffa.
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The beginning of the Black Death which appeared during a time of economic depression in Western Europe and reoccured frequently until the fifteenth century. The Black Death had a major impact on social and economic conditions.
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Those who survived the seige at Kaffa traveled to Italy to escape the plague, but nearly all had caught it. Before they arrived in Italy they had already died of the plague. People who had discovered them had caught the plague and spread it to their families and people of Italy.
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The plague spread so quickly and reached Western Europe in no time. At this time it killed half of Europe's population. People fleed to safer places to avoid catching the plague.
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3,000 Jews were killed in Black Death riots in Efurt Germany. They had also been accused for poisoning wells. As a result of this accusation, Christians everywhere in Europe went on a murderous rampage against Jews, burning them alive wherever they found them. In August 1349, the Jewish communities of Mainz and Cologne were exterminated. In February of that same year, the citizens of Strasbourg murdered 2,000 Jews. By 1351, 60 major and 150 smaller Jewish communities had been destroyed.
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The Black Death by this year had killed 25 million people in Europe alone. There were more than 200 bodies buried daily. Populations for example, in Norwich went from some 70,000 to 7,000 people. This is still considered the worst pandemic known in history.
