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For teachers

8 stations on this tour

1. Constantinople 541 — Plague Of Justinian

   Constantinople (modern Istanbul), Byzantine Empire. In 541 AD, the first recorded bubonic plague pandemic arrived in Constantinople via grain ships from Egypt. At its peak, 5,000–10,000 people died per day. Emperor Justinian himself was infected but survived. Total death toll: 25–50 million (25–50% of the world population). The plague…

2. Milan/Europe 1347 — The Black Death

   Northern Italy — epicenter of European spread. The Black Death (1347–1353) killed 75–200 million people — roughly 30–60% of Europe's population. It arrived via Genoese trading ships from the Crimea. Symptoms: buboes (swollen lymph nodes), fever, necrosis — death within 3–5 days. Entire villages were wiped out. The labor shortage that…

3. Tenochtitlán 1520 — Smallpox In The New World

   Tenochtitlán (modern Mexico City). When Hernán Cortés arrived in 1519, Tenochtitlán had 200,000+ inhabitants — larger than any European city. Spanish soldiers brought smallpox, which spread catastrophically through populations with zero immunity. Within a century, 90% of the indigenous population of the Americas died — an estimated 56…

4. London 1665 — The Great Plague

   City of London, England. The Great Plague of London (1665–66) killed 100,000 people — 25% of London's population. Bodies were collected in death carts at night ("Bring out your dead!"). Mass graves called "plague pits" were dug across the city. The wealthy fled; the poor were locked in their homes with a red cross on the door. Samuel…

5. Worldwide 1918 — Spanish Flu

   Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas, USA — likely origin. The 1918 influenza pandemic (H1N1) infected 500 million people — one-third of the world's population. Death toll: 50–100 million (3–5% of global population). It killed more people than World War I. Unlike normal flu, it disproportionately killed healthy adults aged 20–40 through…

6. Central Africa — Hiv/Aids

   Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo — likely origin. HIV/AIDS has killed 40+ million people since the 1980s. The virus crossed from chimpanzees to humans around 1920 in Kinshasa. It remained undetected for decades before exploding globally. By 2024: 39 million people living with HIV, 630,000 annual deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa bears 70%…

7. Wuhan 2019 — Covid-19

   Huanan Seafood Market, Wuhan, Hubei, China. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan. By March 2020, it was a global pandemic. Official death toll: 7+ million (WHO estimate: 15–20 million excess deaths). The virus triggered the largest global lockdown in history — 4.4 billion people confined. Economic damage:…

8. Pandemics — The Invisible Enemy

   FROM THE PLAGUE TO COVID — mapped. DEATH TOLLS: • Plague of Justinian (541): 25–50 million • Black Death (1347): 75–200 million • Smallpox in Americas (1520): 56 million • Great Plague of London (1665): 100,000 • Spanish Flu (1918): 50–100 million • HIV/AIDS (1981–): 40+ million • COVID-19 (2019–): 15–20 million Pandemics have killed…

Worksheet — Pandemics — Plagues That Shaped Civilization