Deaths due to bubonic plague in London 1562-1680

Although the Black Death peaked in Europe between 1348 and 1351, plague was almost always present in Britain for the next four centuries. In most years, plague was a dormant threat that affected very few people, and diseases such as smallpox and influenza were much more widespread; however, bubonic plague was prone to outbreaks that could decimate populations in a few short years. In London, plague outbreaks occurred every few decades, usually with death tolls in the tens of thousands. The duration and severity of these epidemics varied, sometimes having high death tolls but subsiding quickly, while others had relatively lower death tolls but could last for a number of years. As London's population and density also grew drastically during this period, plague affected the city differently in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.Great Plague of LondonThe final major plague epidemic observed in Britain took place in 1665 and 1666. It became known as the "Great Plague" as it was the last of its kind in Britain, and its death toll eclipsed all other epidemics in the preceding century (although it was much smaller than that of the Black Death). The plague lasted for eighteen months, and had a reported death toll of more than 70,000 in this time; although modern historians estimate that the actual death toll exceeded 100,000. At its peak in September 1665, it is reported that there were more than 7,000 deaths per week, although this may have also been much higher due to the limited records kept at the time. Another reason for the lack of accurate records relating to this epidemic is because of the Great Fire of London in 1666. The fire started on September 02. 1666, and destroyed almost all of the city within the walls, leaving thousands homeless. Historians continue to debate the fire's significance, some citing that it destroyed the unsanitary dwellings where infected rats lived and drove them from the city, while others claim that the timings were purely coincidental and that the epidemic had already begun to subside in February.

尽管黑死病在1348年至1351年间的欧洲达到顶峰，但瘟疫在英国几乎始终存在，接下来的四个世纪里未曾间断。在大多数年份，瘟疫只是潜在的威胁，影响人数寥寥无几，而天花和流感等疾病则更为普遍；然而，腺鼠疫易于爆发，短短数年内便能导致人口锐减。在伦敦，瘟疫的爆发每隔数十年就会发生一次，通常死亡人数以万计。这些疫情的持续时间和严重程度各不相同，有时死亡人数众多但迅速平息，而另一些则死亡人数相对较少，但可能持续数年。在此期间，随着伦敦人口和密度的急剧增长，瘟疫对这座城市的影响在16世纪和17世纪也有所不同。大瘟疫：1665年和1666年，英国观察到的最后一次重大瘟疫疫情。因其为英国此类瘟疫的最后一次爆发，故被称为“大瘟疫”，其死亡人数超过前一个世纪的任何其他疫情（尽管其死亡人数远小于黑死病）。瘟疫持续了十八个月，据报告，在此期间死亡人数超过70,000人；然而，现代历史学家估计实际死亡人数可能超过100,000人。在1665年9月达到顶峰时，据报道，每周死亡人数超过7,000人，尽管由于当时记录的有限，这一数字可能更高。关于这场疫情记录不准确的另一原因是1666年发生的伦敦大火。大火于1666年9月2日爆发，几乎摧毁了城墙内的整个城市，导致数千人无家可归。历史学家继续争论这场大火的重要性，一些人认为它摧毁了感染鼠类栖息的不卫生住所，并将它们驱逐出城市，而另一些人则认为时间的巧合纯属偶然，并且疫情已在2月份开始平息。