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Pandemics

Pandemics

From the wave of bubonic plague that became known as the Black Death, to the Spanish Flu pandemic that infected a third of the world's population and left upwards of 50 million dead, we put the escalating coronavirus crisis into historical context...

What were women's lives like during the 17th-century plague?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Post pandemic: how the years after the Black Death briefly became a ‘golden age’ for medieval women. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Spanish flu: the virus that changed the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

"Far too little, too late": what happened when Spanish Flu hit Britain?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

2020: The historians’ verdict. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The history of vaccination: from Edward Jenner to anti-vaxxers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How Covid-19 is forcing universities to change

Elma Brenner on medieval wellbeing: "People in the Middle Ages were absolutely focused on staying healthy"

Black Death facts: your guide to "the worst catastrophe in recorded history"

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Broad Street cholera outbreak: how bad was it and how was it contained?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

First World War

Q&AWhy was the 1918-19 pandemic known as Spanish Flu?

Q&AHas there always been panic buying? And when have people panic shopped through history?

Coronavirus: what might we learn from pandemics in the past?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Coronavirus: a historical perspective. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

From the handshake to the high-five: a brief history of gestures. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A short history of quarantine. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

“The very sight of her hands did almost turn my stomach”: a brief history of hand-washing. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The (not so) stinky Middle Ages: why medieval people were cleaner than we think

Medieval medicine. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books interview with Paul Morland: “Even the Spanish flu pandemic wasn’t enough to stop population growth”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval videoAn introduction to the Black Death

Black Death: “Oh father, why have you abandoned me?”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Black Death: the historians’ view. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Spanish Flu pandemic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&AWhat was the Third Plague pandemic?

The Black Death and Tudor adventurers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History explorer: the catastrophe of the Black Death. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Where the Black Death happened: 9 places connected to the plague. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.