Alright so just by me saying “Great Plague” most people know what I’m talking about. That’s right, the plague. This was a significant case that changed the medical industry along with how we react in emergencies. Welcome back to my blog. Today we will taking a look at the Great plague and why it was so significant. Over the past few days, I have been looking at historical significance and what makes something significant. To build on this I will be convincing you, through this post, that the plague was an important historical event that had lasting consequences.

Now if you are very into history you will know that there are more than one plagues. The “Black Death” was from 1346 to 1352. Another famous one,  the one dubbed “the Great plague” happened in London from 1665 to 1666. In this post I am mainly talking about the London one. 

In order for something to be significant it has to first effect people at the time. This is a easy box to check considering that 75,000 people died as a direct consequence of the plague. Due to the sheer number there is a memorial constructed in Winchester, Hampshire.

But that’s not the only way it’s remembered. One way or another we have children’s rhythms made after this. The most commonly known and one I personally sung along as a child is ring around the Rosie. For those of you who might not know or need a reminder of the lyrics:

Ring around the Rosie,

Pocket full of Posie,

Atissue , Atissue,

We all fall down. 

Now some of you might be thinking “that’s not how it goes” well do to its popularity the lyrics themselves are varied. The one I’m familiar with uses “Husha, Husha” instead of “Atissue”. Even with the small differences in lyrics the meaning of the song isn’t lost. It start with “Ring around the Rosie” which is a reference to the rash that formed as a consequence of the bubonic plague. “Pocket full of Posie” talks about the flowers that people would wear in order to hid the smell. In my version “Husha” was said because they didn’t want people to find out. And “we all fall down” was a reference to how, because they hid the fact that they were infected, it spread and they all died. As dark as that was, I always remember enjoying the game, spinning around with my friends until we couldn’t stand. 

It’s slightly ironic, how we’ve turned a tragedy into something so enjoyable. Whatever the reason, it helps us remember and I think that if we remember that in itself is a type of mourning and respect.

The plague has its lasting effects till today and as long as we have our knowledge of it, it’s influence isn’t going away any time soon. it’s also something to look back at and learn from. Especially in times like now, during Covid, you can hear about people referencing the plague a lot. So, to finish this post off, was the plague significant? Yes. Many dark times turn into a learning experience that influence how we deal with similar situations in the future.

 

If you enjoyed this post and are looking for more historically significant cases check out Grace or Angelo’s posts!