The Worst Times to be in London | Plagues, Fires, and the Smell | ASMR History

00:00:00 Great Plague of 1665
00:53:50 Great Fire of 1666
01:44:23 Great Stink of 1858

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The Great Plague of 1665: The Great Plague, the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England, struck London in 1665 and lasted into 1666. It was part of a series of plague outbreaks that affected Europe and is believed to have killed about a quarter of London's population, roughly 100,000 people, in just 18 months.

Impact on Society: The plague led to widespread panic and chaos. Families were decimated, and entire communities were devastated. The city employed "plague doctors" who wore beaked masks filled with aromatic items believed to protect them from the disease, and homes affected by the plague were marked with a red cross and the words "Lord have mercy upon us."
Measures Taken: Authorities imposed quarantines, and victims were confined to their homes to prevent the spread of the disease. Mass graves, or plague pits, were dug to cope with the overwhelming number of dead.
The Great Fire of 1666: Just as the city was recovering from the plague, the Great Fire of London broke out on September 2, 1666, and raged for four days. It destroyed a large part of the City of London, including most of the civic buildings, old St. Paul's Cathedral, and around 13,200 houses.

Cause and Spread: The fire started in a bakery on Pudding Lane and quickly spread due to the mainly wooden construction of London's buildings and the close quarters in which they were built.
Aftermath and Reconstruction: The fire fundamentally changed the architecture and urban layout of London. Rebuilding efforts, led by notable figures like Sir Christopher Wren, led to the construction of the new St. Paul’s Cathedral and the introduction of building regulations that promoted the use of brick and stone.
The Great Stink of 1858: During the summer of 1858, London experienced "The Great Stink," an event where the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent was so overpowering that it disrupted the daily functioning of the city, including sessions of Parliament.

Causes: The stench resulted from the discharge of raw sewage into the River Thames, which was essentially an open sewer by this time, exacerbated by a heatwave that made the smell unbearable.
Consequences and Solutions: The crisis prompted lawmakers, driven from the stench-ridden Thames-side Parliament, to finally address the city's inadequate waste disposal system. This led to the creation of a modern sewer network designed by Joseph Bazalgette, which greatly improved public health and the cleanliness of the river.

Information sourced from Wiki, Gutenburg, JSTOR, primary and secondary sources. All information is congruent with archaeological and history evidence at the time of recording.