Studies have estimated that the Black Death killed 30%–50% of Europe’s population between 1347-1351. (For scale, the mortality rate for the Covid pandemic is less than 2.5% for most countries.) ...

History Dept. What the 14th Century Plague Tells Us About How Covid Will Change Politics Regions hit hardest by the Black Death in Europe looked more democratic centuries later.

What was known as the Black Death — named after black spots that appeared on victims’ bodies — is caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis, that is carried by fleas that live on rodents.