Background Information
The plague is a disease that is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. It is spread by fleas and only takes a few days to kill its host. The major symptoms of the plague are fevers and chills that progress into spasms and large buboes that develop near the armpits, neck and groin. In the years 1346-1353, a plague that would later be named the Black Death for its severity, spread from Asia through Europe and into northern Africa. It killed about one third of Europe’s population and resulted in social and political changes that affected three continents majorly.