The Great Plague of Marseille

What happened

In May 1720 a merchant ship from the plague-ridden eastern Mediterranean, the Grand-Saint-Antoine, brought bubonic plague to the great French port of Marseille. Despite quarantine rules its cargo was unloaded, and the disease exploded through the city, killing about 1,000 people a day at its peak — roughly half of Marseille's population, and around 100,000 in the surrounding region.

Why it matters

The plague of Marseille was the last great outbreak of bubonic plague in Western Europe, the final wave of the centuries-long second pandemic that had begun with the Black Death — and a landmark case in the history of quarantine.

Sources

• The Edward Worth Library. Case Study: Plague at Marseilles 1720 · Reputable source