The Black Death 1346–1353 – plague spreading along medieval trade routes
HistoryAncient & Medieval WorldAges 12–13
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Sign in to playA map of plague spreading month by month from the Black Sea (Caffa, 1346) along sea, river and land trade routes across the Mediterranean, Europe and the Middle East until 1353. A simple, clearly labelled route model lets students change the start port, travel speed, trade activity, quarantine and the winter slowdown, and compare the model with approximate historical arrival dates. Panels show estimated mortality by region as ranges, medieval explanations beside the modern understanding (Yersinia pestis, fleas and rats, pneumonic plague), the consequences, and how historians estimate deaths.
Lesson: The Black Death (1346–1353): spread along trade routes, causes, mortality and consequences in late medieval Europe and the Mediterranean
What it shows
The Black Death was the plague pandemic that struck western Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe in 1346–1353. It was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, carried by fleas on rats and spread along the trade routes of the time, especially by ship. The model here is deliberately simple: plague passes along sea, river and land routes at speeds set by the sliders, slowed by winter and by quarantine, and its timing can be compared with historical records. Roughly 30–60 % of Europe's population died, with large regional differences and much uncertainty, and the losses reshaped wages, labour, religion and public health.
How to use
Press Play or drag the month slider to watch the spread. Change Start port, Travel speed, Trade activity and Quarantine in ports, or switch off Winter slows the spread, and compare the red model curve with the dashed historical curve. Click a place on the map to see its dates. Use Read more for mortality, causes, consequences and historians' methods.
Parameters you can change
- Start port Caffa, Black Sea (historical), Constantinople, Messina, Sicily, Alexandria, Marseille, London
- Travel speed (× the model's standard speeds) 0.5–2
- Trade activity 20–150 %
- Quarantine in ports 0–40 days
- Winter slows the spread
- Show historical dates
- Month shown (months after January 1346) 9–95
- Colour places by Outbreak in the model, Estimated regional mortality
- Panel below the map Places: history and model, Mortality by region, Causes: then and now, Consequences, How historians estimate deaths
Questions to explore
- Why did the plague reach Mediterranean ports months before most inland towns?
- How does switching off the winter slowdown change the fit between the model and history?
- Why do historians' estimates of Black Death mortality differ so much?
