Introduction
The plague, otherwise notorious as the Black Death or the Pestilence, often regarded as a curse from God, has its place in every religious scripture. For Christians, it was divine punishment, for Muslims, a symbol of self-sacrifice (martyrdom). In the Hindu scripture (Bhagwat Purana), the plague was known as Mahamari, the “great death” which was caused by rats or rodents (Park 2000). Originated from a Greek word, plaga, meaning a blow or sudden strike, the Plague has a detailed description, including its clinical manifestations, in Thucydides’ The History of the Peloponnesian War (Crawley 2013; Rao 1994). It was recorded in the wake of the political struggle between Athens and Sparta. Plague broke out in its most lethal form, causing many deaths in Athens. It also caused total disruption of community ties and massive demoralization in society. Its impact on military and economic strength resulted in undermining civil and religious institutions at that time (Smith 1997).
Pla...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Andrianaivoarimanana, V, Piola, P, Wagner, D.M., Rakotomanana, F., Maheriniaina, V., Andrianalimanana, S., S. Chanteau, S., Rahalison, L., Ratsitorahina, M. , Rajerison, M. (2019) Trends of Human Plague, Madagascar, 1998–2016. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 25(2):220–228.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994a). International notes update: Human plague-India. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 43(41), 761–762. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032992.htm
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994b). International notes update: Human plague-India. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 43(39), 722–723. Retrieved from https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/26892
Crawley, R.(2013) Thucydides: The History of the Peloponnesian War, Accessible at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7142/7142-h/7142-h.htm
Dhanukar, S. A., & Hazra, A. (1994). Return of the ancient scourge. Science Reporter, 31(11), 21.
Independent. (2016). Cause of 1665 Great Plague of London confirmed through DNA testing. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/plague-cause-discovered-great-1665-london-crossrail-dna-testing-don-walker-bubonic-a7231956.html
Klein, I. (1988). Plague, policy, and popular unrest in British India. Modern Asian Studies, 22(4), 723–755. (Cambridge University Press).
Mackenzie, D. (2001). Did Bubonic plague really cause the black death? New Scientist. 2001. Accessible at https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17223184-000-did-bubonic-plague-really-cause-the-black-death/#ixzz6GgxWqcE1
Panagiotakopulu, E. (2004). Pharaonic Egypt and the origins of plague. Journal of Biogeography, 31(2), 269–275. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.01009.x. The University of Edinburgh.
Panda, S. K. (1996). The 1994 plague epidemics of India: Molecular diagnosis and characterisation of Y.pestis isolates from Surat and Beed. Current Science, 71(10), 794–799.
Parasuraman, S., & Unnikrishnan, P. V. (2000). India disasters report: Towards a policy initiative (p. 291). New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Park, K. (2000). Preventive and social medicine (16th ed., p. 220). Jabalpur: Banarasidas Bhanot.
Porter, S. (2009). The great plague (pp. 57–58). Stroud: Amberley Publishing.
Ramalingaswami, V. (1996). The plague outbreaks in India. Current Science, 71(10), 781.
Rao, M. (1994). Plague: The fourth horseman. Economic and Political Weekly, 29(42), 2720–2721.
Retief, F. P., & Cilliers, L. (2005). The epidemic of Justinian (Ad 542): A prelude to the middle ages. Acta Theologica Supplementum, 7, 115–127.
Rosen, W. (2007). Justinian’s flea: The first great plague and the end of the Roman empire. New York: Penguin.
Cohn, S. K., Jr. (2002). The black death: End of paradigm. The American Historical Review, 107(3), 725.
Smith, C. A. (1997). Plague in the ancient World: A study from Thucydides to Justinian. The Student Historical Journal 1996–1997, Loyola University, New Orleans. (28). Retrieved from, http://people.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1996-7/documents/PlagueintheAncientWorld_AStudyfromThucydidestoJustinian.pdf
Solomon, T. (1995, June). Alexandre Yersin and the plague Bacillus. The Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 98(3), 209–212.
The National. (2013). 39 die in bubonic plague outbreak in Madagascar. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/39-die-in-bubonic-plague-outbreak-in-madagascar-1.319378
Derbes, V. (1966). De Mussis’ and the great plague of 1348: A forgotten episode of bacteriological warfare. Journal of the American Medical Association, 196(1), 59–62.
Wheelis, M. (2002). Biological warfare at the 1346 siege of Caffa. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 8(9), 971–975. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid0809.010536.
WHO. (2017a). Plague, Madagascar: WHO disease outbreak news. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/csr/don/27-november-2017-plague-madagascar/en/
WHO. (2017b). Plague: Key facts. Accessible at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague
Further Reading
Christopher, W. (1996). Plagues: Their origins. Flamingo: History and Future.
Gage, K. L., & Kosoy, M. Y. (2005). Natural history of Plague: Perspectives from more than a century of research. The Annual Review of Entomology, 50, 505. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.50.071803.130337.
Orent, W. (2004). Plague: The mysterious past and terrifying future of the World’s most deadly disease. New York: Free Press.
Shannon, G. W., & Cromley, R. G. (2013). The great plague of London, 1665. Urban Geography, 1(3), 254. https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3638.1.3.254.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Roul, A. (2020). Bubonic Plague. In: Romaniuk, S., Thapa, M., Marton, P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_522-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_522-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74336-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74336-3
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences