The Great Plague

The Great Plague of 1665-6 is the best known epidemic in English history. Carried by fleas, the bubonic plague decimated the population of England in a little over a year. The disease had never been absent in England since the Black Death in 1348, but there had been ten virtually plague-free years from 1655. People thought that perhaps the scourge had gone for ever. But in 1665 it returned with a vengeance. The total number of deaths attributable to that one outbreak is estimated at up to 130,000. In London alone 100,000 out of a total population of 500,000 died.