What epidemic killed thousands of people in London during Shakespeare’s time there?



In the early 1600s, more bubonic plague outbreaks struck and shuttered the doors of London’s Globe Theatre. A 1603 outbreak killed over a fifth of Shakespeare’s fellow Londoners and the plague returned again in 1610, he says.

The most deadly epidemic that killed thousands of people in London during Shakespeare’s time there was the bubonic plague. In 1593, a powerful plague struck London, closing theaters for 14 months and 10,000 Londoners died. Additionally, epidemics of louse-borne typhus also ravaged London several times during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Epidemic disease was a feature of Shakespeare’s life and the plays he created often grew from an awareness about how precarious life can be in the presence of such diseases.

Which epidemic killed over thousands of people in London during Shakespeare’s time there?

From 1485 until 1551 Britain suffered from an epidemic known as the ‘sweating sickness‘ in which thousands of Londoners died. Between 1558 and 1582 plaques arrived in London every four years on average.





The bubonic plague was the most devastating epidemic during Shakespeare’s time in London. It killed more than 15,000 people in 1593 alone. The plague was spread by fleas living on the fur of rats, and it caused widespread panic and chaos. People barricaded themselves in their homes and the complete closure of all theatres in London was ordered by the Crown in 1592-93.The plague was often mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, such as The Tempest, Timon of Athens, and King Lear.

What was the deadliest disease during Shakespeare’s time?

The Black Death

  • The plague. This short article has links to other articles that may give you further information on The Bubonic Plague and how it affected the life of Elizabethans including Shakespeare.
  • Plague Proclamations. …
  • Worst Diseases in Shakespeare’s London.

The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, was the deadliest and most devastating disease during Shakespeare’s time. It is estimated that around 50 million people died from the plague during the 14th century, which was about one-third of the European population at the time.The plague had several outbreaks in London during Shakespeare’s lifetime, killing thousands of people.The plague was also a common theme in many of his plays, such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and King Lear.

Was there a plague during Shakespeare’s time?

There were at least five major outbreaks of bubonic plague in London during Shakespeare’s lifetime and though these outbreaks didn’t reach the devastation of the Black Death, they all had a major impact on the population, particularly in towns and more populated areas.



What disease happened in Shakespeare’s time?



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Shakespeare lived his life in plague-time. He was born in April 1564, a few months before an outbreak of bubonic plague swept across England and killed a quarter of the people in his hometown. Death by plague was excruciating to suffer and ghastly to see.

What illness spread England during Shakespeare’s lifetime?

Waves of the bubonic plague killed at least a third of the European population across centuries. A year or so before Shakespeare wrote “Romeo and Juliet,” a powerful plague struck London in 1593. Theatres closed for 14 months and 10,000 Londoners died, says Columbia University professor and author James Shapiro.