WELLCOME LIBRARY LEARNING RESOURCE GCSE HISTORY TASKS The plague or Black Death brought terrible grief and fear to millions of people throughout history. It was terrifying because it killed so many people so quickly and because no one knew the cause or a cure. It was present in the ancient world, in Egypt, Babylon and Greece. The plague of 542 CE, called Justinian s Plague, was a major cause of the collapse of the Roman Empire. The plague then declined, only to hit Europe again in the 1340s with devastating effect. About one-third of the population died, and in some towns the proportion was much higher. One survivor wrote: Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother another none could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship they died by the hundreds, both day and night, and all were thrown in ditches and covered with earth. And as soon as those ditches were filled more were dug. And I, Agnolo di Tura, buried my five children with my own hands. The plague was frightening because it struck so fast: How many valiant men, how many fair ladies, breakfasted with their families and that same night supped with their ancestors in the next world! The plague remained in Europe for the next few centuries, breaking out occasionally. London, for example, suffered from plague outbreaks in 1563, 1603 and 1625 before the Great Plague of 1665, in which 6000 citizens a week died. In Europe it declined in the 18th century the last serious European plague was in Marseilles in 1720 but remained virulent in Asia and China. There were serious outbreaks in the late 19th century, and, in 1903, it even reached San Francisco. Twelve million people died of plague in India in the first half of the 20th century. However, by then the cause and cure had been found: Robert Koch had discovered the plague bacillus in the 1870s and an anti-toxin was found in 1900. The bacillus was present in the fleas that lived on black rats. Plague hits humans when the fleas leave their host, looking for another home. TASK 1 a. Look at the 12 sources (A L) showing how people reacted to the plague at different times. For each source, work out the date of the treatment or explanation shown. Note that sometimes the source is a later picture of something that happened earlier.
TASKS TASK 1 cont. b. For each source, decide whether it is evidence of a religious, or a practical/scientific approach. Date Religious, or practical / scientific Source A Source B Source C Source D Source E Source F Source G Source H Source I Source J Source K Source L
WELLCOME LIBRARY LEARNING RESOURCE GCSE HISTORY TASKS TASK 2 Plot your results on the simple timeline. a. Do the results on your table show that there was progress? b. Do they show that people in the past were stupid? Put an x above the line in the correct time-box for evidence of a practical or scientific approach to the plague Put a x below the line in the correct time-box for evidence of a religious approach to the plague The Ancient World 14th, 15th, 16th centuries 17th, 18th, 19th centuries
WELLCOME LIBRARY LEARNING RESOURCE GCSE HISTORY SOURCE MATERIALS 1 OF 6 Source A. A seal in the shape of a cylinder, from Babylon, 1800 BCE. The seal was carved so that when it was used, by rolling it in hot wax, a picture was revealed. This one shows Nergal, the god of the plague and the underworld, with his crooked stick. M0014665 Source B. Doctors visiting patients with the plague would wear this clothing: a long coat, reaching the ground, and a mask. The beak of the mask contained strong-smelling herbs. This is from the 17th century but coats exactly like this were worn in the 14th century. V0010642
SOURCE MATERIALS 2 OF 6 Source C. A painting from the altar of a church in Germany, 1424. It shows Christ sending down arrows of the plague, which pin down the victims. L0003626 Source D. This picture from 1557 shows a comet over the Italian city of Florence in 1340. The comet was followed by an outbreak of plague in which 16 000 people died. L0005342
SOURCE MATERIALS 3 OF 6 Source E. A doctor taking the pulse of a plague victim in 1493. The doctor is holding a pomander to his nose: a pomander was a container with small holes which held strong and sweet-smelling herbs and fruits. L0008405 Source F. A procession of flagellants. These were people who walked from town to town whipping themselves or each other as they went. They did this as punishment for the sins of the world that had caused God to send the plague. This is an 18th-century picture, but flagellant processions were common at the time of the Black Death. V0041597
SOURCE MATERIALS 4 OF 6 Source G. Two doctors dissecting a victim of the Great Plague in 1665. Note the steaming bowl beside them: what could this be for? L0001899 Source H. The quarantine building at Naples, Italy, in 1789. Visitors to the city suspected of carrying the plague had to live in isolation here for 40 days (quarantinera = 40 days). Quarantine regulations were set up in many Italian ports in the 14th century. M0014888
SOURCE MATERIALS 5 OF 6 Source I. Russian soldiers burning a village in Astrakhan in which many inhabitants had the plague, 1879. L0004073 Source J. Instructions from the King to Londoners during the Great Plague of 1665. It suggests measures for cleaning the environment and airing rooms, as well as good things to smell and to chew. L0002323EA
SOURCE MATERIALS 6 OF 6 Source K. This is an amulet, worn by an 18th century Jew called Moses David, son of Esther, to ward off the plague. The letters mix in the name of God with the letters of his own name, a practice which was said to have magic powers. (Theophoric = combining the name of god with your own name, as in Eleajehovanor.) L0014678 Source L. Soldiers of the Staffordshire Regiment cleaning houses in Hong Kong where people had died of plague, 1893. (Hong Kong was at that time a British colony). L0022366 Please note: All images are from the Wellcome Trust's Medical Photographic Library http://medphoto.wellcome.ac.uk. To find an image on the website, go to Advanced Search, enter the Image Number (i.e. L0031455) and click the search button.