The bubonic plague was also called the Black Death Bubonic refers to swollen glands A plague happens when sickness spreads quickly It kills a lot of people The Black Death spread in Asia and Africa It also happened in Europe It happened in the 1340s to 1350s It’s the deadliest pandemic in human history Pandemics are sicknesses that spread over a wide area Victims are people who suffer Plague victims got fevers They got aches and pains They had boils on their skin Boils are bubbles that form on skin These boils oozed pus and blood Some plague boils were as big as apples or eggs Victims got red spots that turned black These black spots meant the flesh was dead 5
The plague was carried by fleas living on rats 6
The plague started in Asia It spread along the Silk Road The Silk Road was a trade route It connected Asia and Europe infection The plague attacked medieval Europe Medieval means the Middle Ages Fleas infected rats Infect means to make sick Rats and fleas bit humans This spread the The plague spread through the dirty crowded cities Human and animal waste was in the streets Water was polluted Polluted means dirty These conditions made the sickness spread more easily The plague slowed in the early 1350s But it never really ended It returned every 10 to 20 years 7
