Western Civilization I / Unit 12 WC1 1106 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Miasma, Fleas, and What the Black Death Probably Was
Captions available
The idea
The prevailing theory is bubonic plague, carried by fleas on rats and humans, with a pneumonic form spread by coughing that killed about ninety percent. Its speed troubles the theory, and the anchor says the identity is still debated.
In practice
Consensus: it began in the Mongol khanates and moved west.
Where people slip
No verdict on the disease. State the theory and the doubt.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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