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"What caused the Black Plague?" series

By tsmith on January 16, 2008.

Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 1: Objections to Y. pestis causation

Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 2: Examination of the criticisms

Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 3: Paleomicrobiology and the detection of Y. pestis in corpses

Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 4: Plague in modern times.

Tags
General Epidemiology
Historical studies of disease
infectious disease
public health
Various bacteria

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Black Plague series
Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 1: Objections to Y. pestis causation Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 2: Examination of the criticisms Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 3: Paleomicrobiology and the detection of Y. pestis in corpses Did…
Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 3: Paleomicrobiology and the detection of Y. pestis in corpses
In parts one and two of the "What caused the Black Plague?" series, I discussed objections that had been raised to the conclusion that the bacterium Yersinia pestis was the cause of this pandemic, and the weaknesses with those criticisms. In today's installation, I'll discuss actual molecular…
Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 5: Nail in the coffin
Despite its reputation as a scourge of antiquity, Yersinia pestis--the bacterium that causes bubonic plague--still causes thousands of human illnesses every year. In modern times, most of these occur in Africa, and to a lesser extent in Asia, though we have a handful of cases each year in the U.S…
Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 1: Objections to Y. pestis causation
As I noted last week, Shelley mentioned a topic that's been brought up here a few times in the comments section: alternative theories for causes of the Black Plague (the devastating plague that ravaged Europe beginning in ~1347 and eventually killed more than a third of the population). Though…

Thanks for a most interesting series of articles. I've been studying the history of the Black Death for a little while now, and mulling over the available evidence that suggests bubonic plague was not actually responsible.

Have you read Mike Baillie's book, New Light On The Black Plague 'the cosmic connection'?

A very thought provoking book, presenting strong evidence that cometary impacts and overhead explosions around the time of the 1340's, was responsible for the mass deaths; this includes all the earthquakes documented at the time, the descriptions of raging fires and 'bad vapours' killing people hours after they inhaled it, trees 'knocked to the ground', the terrifying objects seen in the sky by observers.

I think it's worthy of serious attention, particularly due to the evidence that bubonic plague just couldn't move that fast, and thrive in cold areas.

This article reviews the book and highlights many pertinent points, really worth a read:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/145683-New-Light-on-the-Black-Death-T…

Sally