Introduction

It is believed that the Black Death started in China. It then reached rat fleas on merchant ships and was spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe.

Impact on Population

The Black Death is estimated to have killed anywhere from 30-60 percent of the European population. It took nearly 2 centuries for Europe's population to recover and it is difficult to gauge just how much an effect the Black Death had on the course of European history.

Further Reading

I.F.C. Hecker's The Black Death in the Fourteenth Century provides detail on how the disease spread and its effects on society.