Causes and spread
What many doctors at the time believed was the cause of the plague, referring to "bad air".
miasma?
The number of days infected households were locked in their homes by order of the government.
40 days (or several weeks)?
This substance was often burned in the streets to "cleanse" the air people thought was "poisonous" or "miasmic"
brimstone (sulfur) or gunpowder
A large red symbol painted on the doors of infected houses along with the words, "Lord have mercy on us".
a cross?
The mortality rate of the plague began to fall significantly during this season.
winter (late 1665)
The actual organism responsible for transmitting the Yersinia pestis bacterium to humans.
fleas?
People carried these with them in the belief they would ward off the "bad air".
posies of herbs or flowers?
The Lord Mayor ordered thousands of these animals killed, a decision which likely worsened the plague outbreak.
cats and dogs?
The approximate percentage of London's population that died during the Great Plague.
15% (or roughly a quarter, over 100,000 people)?
This other major disaster followed the plague in September 1666, destroying much of central London.
Great Fire of London
This animal, thriving in the city's poor sanitation, carried the primary vectors of the disease.
rats?
A mistaken belief that led to the killing of many cats and dogs in London, which actually made the situation worse.
believing pets spread the plague?
The wealthy and the King fled to this city to escape the plague
Oxford
The name given to the women employed by parishes to walk the streets, enter plague houses, and identify the cause of death.
searchers?
The Great Fire is thought to have helped end the plague by destroying the poor quality housing that housed these pests.
rats (and their fleas
The name of the specific type of plague that most victims suffered from during the 1665 outbreak.
the bubonic plague?
This extreme and unhelpful medieval medical practice, which involved opening a vein, continued to be used as a treatment.
bloodletting
The residents of this Derbyshire village imposed a strict, successful self-quarantine to prevent the disease from spreading further into the countryside.
Eyam
The wealthy, including King Charles II and his court, did this to avoid the plague, a luxury unavailable to the poor.
fleeing the city
A key outcome of the fire and plague was the rebuilding of London with these two urban improvements, which prevented future outbreaks on the same scale.
wider streets and better sewage/drainage systems
The initial London parish outside the city walls where the earliest cases of the disease occurred in the spring of 1665.
St. Giles-in-the-Fields?
These officials remained in London to enforce the King's orders and coordinate the response, while many others fled.
the Lord Mayor (and aldermen)?
Many people at the time believed the plague was a punishment from this entity.
God
These large communal burial sites were used to dispose of bodies, usually at night.
plague pits?
After the plague, London's population recovered rapidly due to migration, returning to pre-plague levels by this year.
1668