Black Death facts: your guide to "the worst catastrophe in recorded history"

The Black Death (Bubonic Plague) was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. It swept across Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa in the mid-1300s, killing an estimated 25–50 million people—about one-third of Europe’s population at the time. The disease was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, often spread by fleas living on rats. Symptoms included fever, chills, weakness, and painful swollen lymph nodes called buboes, which gave the plague its name. The Black Death changed history by