How volcanic eruptions brought the Black Death to Europe
Volcanic eruptions were the first of the “perfect storm” of events that led to the Black Death in Europe, according to a new study.
One of the deadliest epidemics in human history, the Black Death ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing an estimated 25 to 50 million people.
It has long been accepted that bubonic plague is caused by bacteria. Yersinia pestisOriginating from wild rodent populations in Central Asia and reaching Europe via the Black Sea region.
But historians had previously not understood exactly when the Black Death began, where it started, why it was so deadly, and how it spread so quickly.
A new study by academics from the University of Cambridge and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) has shed light on the circumstances that led to the arrival of the bubonic plague in Europe.
Using a combination of climate data and documentary evidence, including analysis of tree rings, the study suggests that a volcanic eruption, or cluster of eruptions, that occurred around 1345 caused annual temperatures to fall for successive years due to haze from volcanic ash and gases.
This caused crops to fail in the Mediterranean region. According to the article published in the magazine, Italian city-states used their connections to trade with grain producers around the Black Sea to prevent rebellions or starvation; this was a method that helped them prevent famine but started the Black Death via foreign ships. Contact Earth and Environment he says.
“This is something I’ve wanted to understand for a long time,” said Professor Ulf Büntgen of Cambridge’s geography department.
“What were the factors that led to the emergence and transmission of the Black Death, and how unusual were they? Why did this event happen at exactly this time and place in European history? This is a very interesting question, but one that no one person can answer on their own.”
Professor Büntgen discovered successive Blue Rings by examining tree rings in the Spanish Pyrenees; this suggests that much of Southern Europe experienced unusually cold and wet summers in 1345, 1346 and 1347. The team found evidence from the same period documenting unusual cloudiness and dark lunar eclipses, as well as indicating volcanic activity.
Dr. GWZO’s historian of medieval climate and epidemiology. Martin Bauch worked with Professor Büntgen to piece together “the most complete picture to date” of the “perfect storm” that brought the plague to European ports.
“For more than a century, these powerful Italian city-states established long-distance trade routes across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, allowing them to put in place a highly efficient system to prevent starvation,” Dr Bauch said. “But in the end, these will inadvertently lead to a much bigger disaster.”
The researchers added that the research was “particularly relevant” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Although the coincidence of factors contributing to the Black Death appears rare, the likelihood of zoonotic diseases emerging under climate change and evolving into pandemics will likely increase in a globalized world,” Prof Büntgen said.
