Bubonic plague was a constant threat to Afro-Eurasian populations during the Second Plague pandemic. This pandemic arrived in Europe as the Black death in 1347, and although it never became endemic, it was constantly re-introduced to the continent over the next four centuries. By the late seventeenth century, most regions of Europe had recorded their final epidemics (but not necessarily the final cases), and it eventually subsided in the mid-nineteenth century. The death tolls due to plague were relatively low in most years, however, when epidemics appeared they could often decimate populations within a few short years, and lead to mass evacuations of major cities (such as in London in 1665).
Plague in Russia
Of the sample epidemics shown here, the two largest cases were in Russia; a region where plague outbreaks were much more frequent than in other parts of Europe. The reason for this was because plague would spread along the Volga river, after being brought to the Caspian Sea by fishermen from the Eurasian Steppes (where the plague bacteria Yersinia pestis is thought to originate). Between these two epidemics, it is estimated that Russia lost over half a million people. The epidemic of 1709, which spread across Northern Europe during the Great Northern War, saw a reported 150,000 deaths across the Russian Empire. The plague epidemic of 1771 in Russia saw the deaths of approximately 60,000 in the capital city, and as many as 300,000 in the surrounding region. In Moscow, the government's attempts to contain the outbreak resulted in a riot by the citizens, and the aftermath saw significant socio-political upheaval in the city and beyond.
Death toll across a variety of bubonic plague epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838
Characteristic
Estimated number of deaths
Marwar 1836-1838
100,000
Egypt 1834-1835
50,000
Constantinople 1812-1813
100,000
Constantinople 1803
15,000
South and West of Moscow 1771-1772
300,000
Moscow 1771
60,000
Cyprus 1759-1761
70,000
Nicosia 1759-60
25,000
Marseilles & Toulon 1720
90,000
Russian epidemic 1709
150,000
Prague 1679
83,000
Vienna 1679
76,000
Malta 1675
11,000
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Estimated number of deathsLondon1665-1666*Malta 1675Vienna 1679Prague 1679Russianepidemic1709Marseilles &Toulon 1720Nicosia1759-60Cyprus1759-1761Moscow1771South andWest ofMoscow1771-1772Constantinople1803Constantinople1812-1813Egypt 1834-1835Marwar1836-1838
050,000100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000
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The data was compiled and corrected using a variety of sources, most notably A Treatise on Plague, by W.J. Simpson (1905), and Encyclopædia Britannica.
*The official death toll is approximately 70,000, however experts predict that it was closer to 100,000.
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Cambridge University Press, & Encyclopædia Britannica. (May 5, 2020). Death toll across a variety of bubonic plague epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114961/death-toll-in-select-plague-epidemics-17th-19th-century/
Cambridge University Press, und Encyclopædia Britannica. "Death toll across a variety of bubonic plague epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838." Chart. May 5, 2020. Statista. Accessed February 18, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114961/death-toll-in-select-plague-epidemics-17th-19th-century/
Cambridge University Press, Encyclopædia Britannica. (2020). Death toll across a variety of bubonic plague epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 18, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114961/death-toll-in-select-plague-epidemics-17th-19th-century/
Cambridge University Press, and Encyclopædia Britannica. "Death Toll across a Variety of Bubonic Plague Epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838." Statista, Statista Inc., 5 May 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114961/death-toll-in-select-plague-epidemics-17th-19th-century/
Cambridge University Press & Encyclopædia Britannica, Death toll across a variety of bubonic plague epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114961/death-toll-in-select-plague-epidemics-17th-19th-century/ (last visited February 18, 2025)
Death toll across a variety of bubonic plague epidemics in Europe and North Africa from 1665 to 1838 [Graph], Cambridge University Press, & Encyclopædia Britannica, May 5, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114961/death-toll-in-select-plague-epidemics-17th-19th-century/
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