1592–93 London plague

Plague had remained present in England since the Black Death of the 14th century by infecting various rodents and fauna in the countryside. Occasionally Yersinia pestis was transmitted to villages and cities by humans who infectiously contacted the fleas of these animals, with disastrous results for trade, farming, and life. The plague, as the disease was known in England since the 15th century, erupted in numerous outbreaks in England and London throughout the 16th century and plague activity had been increasing on England's southern and eastern coasts throughout the late 1580s and early 90s. Plague struck Newcastle in 1589, killing 1727 residents by January of 1590. From 1590 to 1592 Plymouth and Devon were also affected by plague, with 997 people dying from plague at Totnes and Tiverton. Plague spread south and north in England's countryside in the early 1590s, contaminating reservoirs of rodents in farms and towns until eventually reaching London in the summer of 1592.