The Great Plague killed nearly half of Europe's population during the 14th century. A plague is a widespread disease. The disease was also known as the “Black Death”. Most Europeans believed that the plague was the beginning of the end of the world. They were poorly equipped and unprepared for what this entailed. It was by far one of the worst epidemics ever seen at the time. The Great Plague of Europe spread throughout the continent and its population. The plague began in the western part of Europe; off the Italian coast. It arrived by sea between the autumn of 1347 and the early spring of 1348. Italy was hit so hard that only one in seven victims recovered there. The plague reached Spain, France, England and Russia before heading east within three years. The medieval pandemic also affected Asia, China was the hardest hit as it was at the center of travel. The Black Death was caused by various transmissions. The most common cause was rodents. Rodents such as rats had been seen in all cities. These rats carried excessive amounts of fleas with them. The fleas themselves are what caused the actual spread, from rats to human populations, by ingesting infected blood from its host. The pandemic then spread from one area of ​​Europe to another, via trade routes, after rats boarded merchant ships and traveled along rivers. The most commonly used waterway was the Black Sea. The disease spread from port cities to the surrounding countryside. Some ports tried to prevent all ships from entering in the hope of not becoming infected, but instead the spread spread more when they turned to an inviting port nearby. It spread... center of paper......dren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/a/death_fined.htm>.Wattenburg, Ben. "Human extermination". Gadsden Times [Alabama]: A4+. Network. May 20, 2012. "Black Death". History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC, 1996-2012. Network. May 20, 2012. "Deadly Game." Blogspot.com. Np, December 27, 2006. Web. May 8, 2012. "The Black Death Plague." national geography 1996-2012: 1+. Network. May 4, 2012. "The Black Death, 1348." eyewittnesstohistory.com. eyewitness to history, 2001. Web. 27 April. 2012. .