jan 27, 1656 - Plague

Description:

Plague sweeps Naples and kills have of the city's 300,000 inhabitants. Miasma theory and divine punishment are attributed to cause, however as soon as Holy Individuals caught them, divine punishment was ruled out. Miasma stood out as the main cause. Plague Doctors developed special suits with helmets resembling birds beaks with spices in them to repel the Miasma in order to treat and rid the streets of dead bodies. People noticed plague spared no one and thought if royals can get plague, what made them so special? This contributed to the downfall of the feudal system and gave rise to the merchant class and trading was allowed to thrive on a larger scale. Doctors couldn't save people, so people sought treatment from Barbers and gave rise to the need to understand the human body better since Barbers knew about the human body than Doctors at the time from blood letting treatments