Black Death
The plague that killed millions and changed Europe forever
- When
- 1346–1353 in Europe
- What caused it
- A bacterium spread by fleas and through contact with infected people
- How many died
- 30–60% of Europe's population
- Name origin
- Not called 'black death' until the 1750s in English
- Recovery time
- Europe's population didn't return to 14th-century levels until the 1500s
- How it spread to Europe
- Carried by fleas on black rats aboard ships from Crimea in 1347
The name came 400 years later
During the plague itself in the 1300s, people called it the 'pestilence' or 'great death'—never 'black death.' That name didn't appear in English until 1755, more than 400 years after the pandemic ended. We've been calling it by a name that wasn't actually used back then.
Explore by zooming in
What was the Black Death?
The Black Death was a terrible disease that swept through Europe from 1346 to 1353. It killed between 30 and 60 out of every 100 people in Europe—more people than alive in many countries today. The sickness was caused by a tiny germ called Yersinia pestis that spread through flea bites and contact with sick people. It was one of the deadliest pandemics in all of human history.
The plague mainly spread from person to person as pneumonic plague (through the air when infected people coughed), which is why it traveled inland faster than if it had relied only on rat fleas. Ships carrying infected rats and crew from the Mediterranean carried it to ports across Europe, and from there travelers and traders spread it inland.
Where did it come from?
Scientists aren't completely sure where the Black Death started, but evidence points to Central Asia or China. The plague likely arrived in Europe in 1347 when soldiers at a Genoese trading post in Crimea (a region by the Black Sea) got sick. Genoese traders then sailed home to Italy, carrying infected rats on their ships. From there, the disease spread across the Mediterranean and into Europe.
Yersinia pestis evolved thousands of years ago—genetic analysis shows it arose around 7,000 years ago. Recent 2026 research found traces of plague in the teeth of ancient people from 5,500 years ago near Lake Baikal in Siberia, showing the disease is far older than the Black Death itself. The actual strain that caused the 1346 outbreak has been traced back to graves in Kyrgyzstan from 1338–1339.
What happened after?
The Black Death changed Europe forever. So many people died that Europe's economy collapsed and entire villages were abandoned. It took 200 years for Europe's population to grow back to what it was before 1346. The plague kept coming back in smaller outbreaks for the next 400 years until the early 1800s. The disease killed so many people that it reshaped society, jobs, and the way people lived.
Plague outbreaks continued throughout the Late Middle Ages, preventing steady population growth. There were also other disasters like the Great Famine of 1315–1317 that weakened Europe before the plague hit. It wasn't until the 1500s that Europe finally had as many people as it did before 1346, and that recovery required a century of peace and better conditions.