I'm just about finished with The Black Death history series offered by Great Courses. Other than a few tidbits here and there, I didn't learn anything new; I've read numerous plague books over the years that covered the same basic material. What was new, however, was my changed perspective in hearing the familiar facts. Since I'm currently living in the midst of a pandemic, my reaction is quite heightened to the emotional impact of the experience all those centuries ago.
What stood out to me this time around was the long-term duration of the plague. The 1347 start of the plague is always the date that I've remembered, and I paid much less attention to the subsequent plague outbreaks. But tonight, as I heard those dates being recited, showing the resurgence of plague every few decades for the next 200 years, I made the connection to the present day. For all that we've been through this past year, it's nothing compared to the 50% mortality rate of the plague, but it's been enough to be quite disruptive of our economy and our society, putting pressure on the fractures that were already present. Now imagine that various coronavirus mutations (and other as yet unimagined diseases) continue to sweep over the globe at periodic intervals, just a decade or two apart.
We get innoculated to this COVID-19 strain and begin to resume our "normal" pre-pandemic lives, only to have another pandemic wave in 2029. Then something different in 2037 that takes a few years to quell, only to be hit by a mutated coronavirus in 2051. Plague of one sort or another arises in 2070, and 2093, then 2112, and on and on until 2200. It's a rather sobering thought.
www.theguardian.com
