In the early 1330’s, the deadly bubonic plague occurred in China.  Once people are infected, they infect other people very quickly.  Plague causes high fever and painful swelling of the lymph glands (in your neck) called buboes, which is how it gets its name.  It causes spots on the skin that are red first and then black.  Several Italian merchant ships returned from China in October 1347.  They docked in Sicily and the plague spread to all of Italy in a matter of days.  An eyewitness tells what happened: “Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them, the people quickly drove the Italians from their city.  But the disease remained, and soon death was everywhere.  Fathers abandoned their sons.  Lawyers refused to make out wills for the dying.  Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too.  Bodies were left in empty houses, and there was no one to give them a Christian burial.”  Italian writer Boccaccio said the victims “ate lunch with their friends and ate dinner with their ancestors in paradise”.  One main reason the disease spread so quickly is that MILLIONS of cats were killed, because they were thought to be signs of the devil.  Since the cat population decreased, the rat and flea population increased, therefore spreading the disease faster.  After the worst was over, small outbreaks occurred for centuries until disappearing in the 1600’s.
Estimated Population of Europe (1000-1352)
 *1000-38 million
 *1100-48 million
 *1200-59 million
 *1300-70 million
 *1347-75 million
 *1352-50 million
25 million people died in Europe in just under 5 years. – 1/3 of Europe’s population!