Credit: DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images

Historical Insights The Black Death in Marseilles

By the summer of 1720, Marseilles couldn’t keep up with the death count and bodies began piling up in the streets, prompting city officials to hire beggars and convicts to cart the dead to mass graves. About 1721, Marseilles, France. Credit: DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images

The Black Death in Marseilles

In the spring of 1720, the bubonic plague arrived in the southern port city of Marseilles, France.

When on May 25, 1720, boil-covered bodies arrived aboard a Syrian ship in the French port of Marseilles, a quarantine was immediately put into effect. Surviving crewmembers and their wares remained aboard for 15 days before they were allowed to go free. But that effort was not enough—within two months a bubonic plague outbreak mushroomed into a full-fledged epidemic that left locals reeling. “Violent Pains in the Head…Vomit,” one witness recorded, “And in 6 or 8 Hours time Bubo’s and Plague Sores began to rise.” Government leaders desperately searched for a solution as the death toll rose. Thousands fled Marseilles, prompting officials to barricade the city. Despite the cordon, the plague spread to surrounding areas, and conditions continued to deteriorate in Marseilles when residents ran out of food, inciting riots. By the year’s end, the epidemic had subsided, but not before killing nearly half of the city’s population and an additional 50,000 across the South of France.

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The Black Death epidemic in Marseilles is remembered as the last widespread outbreak of the bubonic plague in Western Europe.
The Black Death epidemic in Marseilles is remembered as the last widespread outbreak of the bubonic plague in Western Europe. 1726, Marseilles, France. Credit: DEA/M. SEEMULLER/De Agostini/Getty Images
Before the citywide quarantine went into effect, more than 10,000 people—mostly those of means who could support themselves outside the city—fled Marseilles.
Before the citywide quarantine went into effect, more than 10,000 people—mostly those of means who could support themselves outside the city—fled Marseilles. About 1730, Marseilles, France. Credit: Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Because the plague hit before an understanding of germs, doctors could do little to alleviate the suffering. Some prescribed herbal remedies while others advised setting fires to cleanse the air of toxins, but ultimately both strategies failed to subdue the disease.
Because the plague hit before an understanding of germs, doctors could do little to alleviate the suffering. Some prescribed herbal remedies while others advised setting fires to cleanse the air of toxins, but ultimately both strategies failed to subdue the disease. About 1720, Marseilles, France. Credit: DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images
Though Marseilles was hit hard by the epidemic, booming trade with South America and Asia in the following decades helped its economy and population recover quickly.
Though Marseilles was hit hard by the epidemic, booming trade with South America and Asia in the following decades helped its economy and population recover quickly. About 1750, Marseilles, France. Credit: DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images