10 Facts about the Black Plague

9. The Black Plague was not the only plague.

In fact, it was not even the first. The Black Plague is said to have been the worst of the plagues, but it was the second of three large plague pandemics in history. The first occurred during the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century and killed an estimated 25 million people. The third plague pandemic occurred later, in the middle of the 19th century and originated in Eastern Asia. It killed nearly 100,000 people and is said to still infect people today.

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