Living standards and plague in London, 1560–1665

Abstract

This article uses individual records of 930,000 burials and 630,000 baptisms to reconstruct the spatial and temporal patterns of birth and death in London from 1560 to 1665, a period dominated by recurrent plague. The plagues of 1563, 1603, 1625, and 1665 appear of roughly equal magnitude, with deaths running at five to six times their usual rate, but the impact on wealthier central parishes falls markedly through time. Tracking the weekly spread of plague, we find no evidence that plague emerged first in the docks, and in many cases elevated mortality emerges first in the poor northern suburbs. Looking at the seasonal pattern of mortality, we find that the characteristic autumn spike associated with plague continued into the early 1700s. Natural increase improved as smaller crises disappeared after 1590, but fewer than half of those born survived childhood.

Mortality and demographic recovery in early post-black death epidemics: Role of recent emigrants in medieval Dijon

“…The influence of poverty or low socioeconomic status on plague-related mortality is apparent in most studies of preindustrial plagues [3,14,31,38,39], although the influence varies in the long-term historical perspective [3,40]. In confirmation of our previous results [29], here we show that in 1400, taxpayers with low marcs tax rates displayed a higher mortality than their fellow citizens.…”

Phylogeography of the second plague pandemic revealed through analysis of historical Yersinia pestis genomes

“…3) appears to have had a wider geographic distribution. Given that both Marseille and London were among the main maritime trade centres in Europe during that time, it is plausible that introduction of the disease in these areas occurred via ships 50 , although sources favouring local epidemic eruptions also exist 51 . Previous studies have demonstrated that transmission of Y. pestis via steamships during the 19th century played a significant role in initial introduction of the bacterium to several regions worldwide, such as in Madagascar where it persists until today 15,16,52,53 .…”

Plague and Lethal Epidemics in the Pre-Industrial World

“…Poor housing, overcrowded spaces, and greater proximity to parasites favored the spread of plague and of other epidemics which goes a long way towards explaining why many plagues showed a tendency to affect particularly the poorest sectors of the population. In London, during 1560-1665, residents of the richest parishes were less likely to die of plague (Cummins, Kelly, and Ó Gráda 2016). In 1523 poorest and most densely-populated, where recent immigrants tended to live in exceptionally overcrowded and precarious conditions (Cohn and Alfani 2007, pp.…”