Topic Summaries

The Great Plague (1665–1666)

GCSE > History > Edexcel > GCSE History: Medicine and Health in Britain (1000-Present) Topic Summaries > Renaissance medicine > The Great Plague (1665–1666)
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Summary table
  • The Great Plague of London killed approximately 100,000 people (15% of London’s population).
  • Like the Black Death, this was a bubonic plague characterised by buboes, swelling, fever, and high mortality.
  • Many medieval beliefs about miasma or divine punishment being the cause of plague still persisted.In reality, the plague was spread by fleas which lived on rats.
  • Unlike the Black Death, local authorities had a more organised approach which meant fewer deaths and more chances at prevention. This marked the beginning of a greater understanding of the importance of hygiene, and distancing.
Beliefs about causes Prevention methods Treatments Consequences
  • Punishment from God
  • Astrological events
  • Miasma
  • Imbalance of humours
  • Personto- person contact
  • Smoking to keep away the poisoned air
  • Carrying pomanders (sweetsmelling objects)
  • Smelling a sponge soaked with vinegar to cleanse out the bad smells
  • If you were rich enough, moving to the countryside to avoid catching it
  • Bleeding with leeches
  • Prayers and fasting to atone for sins
  • Paid ‘women searchers’ to examine the sick and note those with symptoms
  • Plague victims were quarantined with watchmen
  • Houses painted with red crosses and words ‘Lord Have Mercy on Us’
  • Bodies were brought out at night to avoid contamination
  • Local authorities banned public gatherings, cleaned streets, killed stray animals believed to spread the disease, and burned tar and herbs to cleanse the air
  • The border with Scotland was closed, and trade between towns was stopped
  • Plague doctors wore bird-like masks filled with scents like flowers

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