The epidemics that changed the world

Express Research

EXPRESS RESEARCH

Dear reader,   Many would say that the Covid-19 pandemic is out to change the world as we know it. It's been two years since the outbreak first began and despite the advancement in vaccines and medicines, the virus continues to affect lives and livelihoods across the world. India is currently at the start of a third wave prompting the government to enforce new restrictions. The pages of history are replete with instances when major disease outbreaks have altered and overturned the ways in which societies and political structures functioned.    The epics of epidemics series from our archives digs into five moments from the past when major epidemics reshaped the economy and society. The first plague of written history had caused the Byzantine Empire to fall. The Black Death of the 14th century on the other hand, ended the practice of serfdom in Europe. In India, the Bubonic plague of the 19th century came as a God-given opportunity for colonial officials to suppress the resident population, while the Spanish flu of the 20th century led to a nationalist awakening. Each of these moments started out as a health crisis but soon turned into a socio-political or economic phenomenon.    Read the series: Epics of Epidemics   Sincerely,   Adrija Roychowdhury

Read All Stories →

How Bombay plague resulted in the Epidemic Act and triggered a sense of nationalist resistance   The first plague in history ended the Byzantine empire, was considered an act of God   Black death: The great plague that killed millions, and feudalism   Black Death: How Jews were blamed for the plague and massacred

Contact Us Unsubscribe About Us   Copyright © 2021 The Indian Express [P] Ltd. All Rights Reserved