Europe's Chill Linked To Disease (Black Death Caused Little Ice Age?)

bbc ^ | 2-27-2006

[blam]

Okay, thanks.

[gleeaikin]

The original plague book was, if I remember correctly, Daniel Defoe's "Journal of the Plague Years." A chilling report from an eye witness. Another chilling book is "Rats, Lice and History" by Zinzer.

Here are some interesting tidbits I have picked up over the years. They may or may not be completely accurate as some of them I saw 30 or 40 years ago.
1) The Black Rat and the plague came from Central Asia via the Venetian and Mediterranean trade routes. It generally took 3 or 4 years to get from Italy to England.

2) The Black Rat likes to live in houses, attics and rafters. The Norwegian (gray) rat which we currently enjoy in our cities pushed out the Black Rat. Since it lives in holes in the ground and basements, it did not spread plague so easily as it had reduced contact with people.

3) Before Columbus and co. the Americans may have had 20,000,000 population. There were very large settlements along the Amazon. After Columbus and smallpox and measles, the population may have only been 4,000,000, in which case there would have been a lot of forest and jungle regrowth.

4) Because of fear of witchcraft, many cats were killed. DUMB! Little old ladies with cats living in the woods would have survived until the locals noticed and killed them as witches. Nostradamus encouraged keeping cats and drinking rose hips tea (high in Vitamin C and available in winter).

5) Bubonic plague is endemic in 17 Western states and is found in the wild rodent (especially gopher) population.

6) Bubonic plague has three major forms: a) bubonic-bubos are swollen blackened extremely painful swelling of the lymph glands. Someone with a good imune system will get this type and may live-50%? b) Pneumonic form--passed from person to person in the air and lungs. Highly contageous and highly fatal--95%. Septicemic form--infects the blood, occures where immune system is bad, very rapid and almost always fatal. Cheers, and good night.