The Black Death - Professor Sir Richard J. Evans FBA

Bubonic plague first swept Europe in the age of Justinian, in the sixth century, killing an estimated 25 million people in the Byzantine Empire and spreading further west. Its most devastating outbreak was in mid-fourteenth-century Europe, when it destroyed perhaps a third of the continent's population. Italian city-states pioneered the policies of quarantine and isolation that remained standard preventive measures for many centuries; religious revival and popular disturbances, crime and conflict may have spread as life was cheapened by the mass impact of the plague. The economic effects of the drastic reduction in population were severe, though not necessarily negative. Later outbreaks of the plague culminated in outbreaks in Seville (1647), London (1665), Vienna (1679) and Marseilles (1720) and then it disappeared from Europe while recurring in Asia through the nineteenth century. The plague set the template for many later confrontations with epidemic disease, discussed in the following lectures.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and...
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[@Nemoyers]

It isn't a dramatic reenactment ; it is a lecture. I want to read the books he mentioned earlier. It was worth my time. Thank you

[@WildBillCox13]

Let me suggest Plagues and Peoples, the first work he references. I read it when new (1976 or so) and was amazed, impressed, and informed.

[@shelaghcoop]

I find the explanations just gripping because they combine history with literature. They’re given in an easy to follow manner unlike some wordy academic deliveries, so thank you for the information and enlightenment.

[@teacherdude]

Thank you for posting this. There are plenty of videos on Black Death but virtually all focus exclusively on the European dimensions of the plague, good to see a wider, global analysis

[@Lovethemusic385]

Rich Evans brought me here.

[@sacredband9812]

In the Russian campaign of 1812 by Napoleon, typhus killed around 200,000 French and allied troops. There were another 50,000 plus died of dysentry and other diseases. Napoleon had encountered the black death in the Egyptian campaign. Good book is 'The Illustrious Dead' by Stephan Talty.

[@freddykrueger5503]

Good lecture

[@SuperTomwell]

Awsome lecture!!

[@owenbrown3690]

If only we were to know in 2012

[@freevasefreevason2530]

"Popular uprisings are a recurring feature of epidemics" Wow, that comment has a lot more weight now looking at the US during Corona

[@harrymonk6]

Whos here because they watch videos on KZbin?

[@leonstrand329]

Lol... humm I studied the hell out of world war 2, what should I do now? Got it! I'll study the black death!

[@Loagun]

I'm not sure why biologists and historians and geologist all don't cross reference time periods on a regular basis. These 'plagues' took place during what is known as 'the little ice age' which lasted rate from the beginning of the last millennium to the early 19th century. So just having a bad year in the 1500 is not even really worth mentioning when there was centuries of bad weather at that time.

[@philmay7834]

Was there no rats in the Americas? Apart from rats with fleas spreading the Plague, do they know its origin? Everything originates somewhere, somehow?

[@mattkaralus529]

CAPSCAPSCAPS

[@fclemon5327]

The settlement of Iceland began in the year 874, not 974.

[@normanclemens7225]

POTS DID STOP, DID THEY NOT?

[@MsUrmston]

Onorman clemens

[@kikidee3204]

Penelope pitstop cringe sorry couldn't help myself x

[@Loagun]

PS and we also have a Jupiter Saturn conjunction going on right now except it's with Pluto. The worst one.

[@SuperFishboneFan]

How can someone take such an interesting topic and make it so dreadfully boring.

[@barkunderjord3708]

Facts are never boring in my mind, but I have a suggestion for you; set the speed to 1,25 or 1,5... then you save time and it's not so slow going. And you will have more time to another lecture or a good book ;)

[@janeadelaidelennox7193]

SuperFishboneFan I thought it was an interesting lecture but he's not a very good lecturer.

[@hotroddaddy-et4xg]

he's british,they make most things boring..lol

[@bryine.willis8683]

> Russian art...

[@merileehartshorn379]

This British Subject should know better! The Black Plague was an Act of God myself The Great Queen Rhiannon for altering The Holy Bible back then opposing ME The Pendragon! In The United States they've done it AGAIN. Revelations Chapter 22 forbids all versions of The King James Holy Bible period once and for all or else The Plagues of my Prophecy of the books of The King James Holy Bible will be upon you. Amen

[@merileehartshorn379]

You end up looking like Beetlejuice! Entomology folks! Duh?! Hahahaha I must dispose of Evil somehow! Here we go again! Good luck it's in the near future and my good Children will be happier! So be it! C'est le vie Bebe!

[@kalebdickenson2799]

@@merileehartshorn379 Can you prove this bloody lunacy in any way?

[@parisbabos235]

BORING LECTURER HE DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE MADE THE MATERIAL OF HIS LECTURE HIS OWN. PROCOPIOS WAS NOT ALIVE IN 752 HE WAS CONTEMPORARY WITH JUSTINIAN

[@gondolacrescent5]

Oh nooo, ah excuse me folks . This video is currently unfit to view. Nothing to see here, move along please, move along......... .(the lecturer doesn’t stop mentioning historic instances of climate change-and he says they’re caused by volcanic eruptions.......sheesh! Stop playing it, stop it, stop it. Quick, for the love of al gore,!!)

[@johnthekeane]

Idiot.

[@darsynia]

If you turned every attempt at educating yourself off and ignored it that would certainly explain how stupid you are.

[@hotroddaddy-et4xg]

booooo!!! very boring..

[@johnthekeane]

Idiot.

[@alexcarter8807]

I know! No explosions or car crashes! What kind of movie is this?