The Black Death
Imagery of the Black Death ravaging cities of medieval Europe is burned into the popular imagination. But the bubonic plague wasn’t confined to Europe. It was history’s worst pandemic, and it ravaged many parts of Afro-Eurasia, killing up to 200 million people as it spread along trade routes and reshaped the social order.
Featured Materials
Trade Networks and the Black Death
Article
Trade Networks and the Black Death
The Black Death was caused by one huge empire and one tiny animal. It spread through trade networks across large portions of Afro-Eurasia, reshaping societies in every region it afflicted.
Source Collection: The Black Death
Article
Source Collection: The Black Death
The primary and secondary source excerpts in this collection help you understand the origins and spread of the fourteenth-century Black Death, and illustrate how our understanding of the pandemic has changed over time.
Black Death and Mongols Thematic Map
Visual Aid
Black Death and Mongols Thematic Map
A full-color thematic map of the Black Death and Mongols in 1200 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.
Materials
Causal Map: The Black Death
Activity
Causal Map: The Black Death
Continue developing the causal mapping skills you acquired from the beginning of this lesson as you dive into mapping the Black Death.
Causation: The Black Death
Activity
Causation: The Black Death
Thinking about both the causes and consequences of the spread of the Black Death will push you toward an understanding of the complex relationship between cause and consequence.
