In this video, Kevin Hicks explores the subject of the Black Death, and looks at how the deadliest plague in human history was really spread. In recent years, popular thinking surrounding the Black Death and the Bubonic Plague has undergone significant scrutiny and now, new light has been shed on long-held assumptions as it appears that rats (or fleas on rats, the Yesenia Pestis, which is the name of the bacteria that lives in the gut of the flea) might not have played the critical role in causing the Black Death as we've all believed for so long. Kevin also looks at some of the crazy cures and reveals some of the human stories behind the catastrophic statistics of the deadly plague that killed millions.
#blackdeath #plague #bubonicplague

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CREDITS:
Book reference: Return of the Black Death: The World's Greatest Serial Killer by Susan Scott and Christopher J Duncan.
Medieval ships coming in: National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Woman pulling plague cart: Wellcome Images CC BY 4.0 https://wellcomecollection.org
The Pest House: Wellcome Images CC BY 4.0 https://wellcomecollection.org
Photo of 17th century plague mask: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0
Image of traveller, courtesy of: https://themedievalhunt.com