Study: Volcanic Eruptions Brought the Black Death to Europe
A volcanic eruption around 1345 caused climate cooling and famine that forced Italian city-states to import grain from the Black Sea, likely carrying plague-infected fleas that spread the Black Death.
- A massive volcanic eruption around 1345 caused temperatures to drop sharply for several years due to volcanic ash and gases blocking sunlight, leading to crop failures in the Mediterranean region.
- To avoid starvation, Italian city-states imported grain from areas around the Black Sea, inadvertently bringing plague-carrying fleas that spread the Black Death to Europe.
- The Black Death, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, swept across Europe in 1348-49, killing up to half of the population.
105 Articles
105 Articles
The Black Death may have been triggered by a medieval volcanic eruption
A volcanic eruption in 1345 may have set off a chain reaction that eventually led to the arrival of the Black Death in Europe, according to the latest research. The cooling and rainy years that followed the eruption caused agricultural decline, and together with increased grain imports, the pathogen responsible for the plague also reached the continent. A new study suggests that a previously unknown volcanic eruption around 1345 triggered the cl…
A Volcanic Eruption in 1345 May Have Triggered a Chain of Events That Brought the Black Death to Europe
Ash from the explosion may have led to crop failure and famine in southern Europe, leading some Italian cities to import grain—which possibly carried fleas infected with the bubonic plague
A huge volcanic eruption may have triggered a chain reaction that led to the most devastating pandemic in European history: the Black Death, which between 1345 and 1353 killed between a third and a half of Europe's population at the time.
Volcanoes May Have Helped Spread the Black Death, Study Finds
The Black Death, the OG pandemic, responsible for wiping out tens of millions of people across Europe, Asia, and North Africa between 1346 and 1353, might have had a little help from volcanoes. I am aware that sounds like the plot of a 2010s SyFy Channel movie. But, according to a study in Communications Earth & Environment, one or more massive tropical eruptions in 1345 may have set the stage for Europe’s deadliest pandemic. The eruptions were …
A new research proposed that volcanic activity in the tropics during the 14th century directly influenced the appearance and spread of black plague in Europe.The finding was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment and developed by the Leibniz Institute of History and Culture of Eastern Europe (Germany) in conjunction with the University of Cambridge (UK).According to the study, the volcanic eruption would have generated sever…
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