Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils learn about a theme in British history over a period of roughly 1000 years. They examine this theme, analysing the impact it had in Medieval, Early Modern, Industrial and Modern Britain, with a particular focus on change and continuity.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain the impact of the Great Plague and evaluate the effectiveness of responses to it.

Key Notes

• Over 100 000 people in London alone were killed by the Great Plague.
• The actual cause of the plague was still not understood in 1665.
• No effective cures for the plague existed at the time.
• Authorities used social distancing to try and prevent the spread of the plague.
• Social distancing methods included household quarantines.

Vocabulary To Learn

• epidemic: when a large number of people get the same disease over the same period of time
• social distancing: the practice of keeping away from other people as much as possible, in order to stop a disease from spreading
• quarantine: when people are kept away from others because they have, or might have, a disease

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• The Great Plague was the last serious plague epidemic because a cure was found.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• 19th century approaches to treatment and prevention Study Guide
• A 19th century revolution in surgery Study Guide
• Edward Jenner and vaccination Study Guide
• Fighting cholera in London in the 19th century Study Guide
• Hospital care in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Study Guide
• Improvements in modern surgery Study Guide
• Improvements in public health in the 19th century Study Guide
• John Hunter Study Guide
• Medieval approaches to treating and preventing disease Study Guide
• Medieval caregivers Study Guide
• Medieval ideas about the causes of illness and disease Study Guide
• Medieval public health in towns and monasteries Study Guide
• Medieval surgery Study Guide
• Modern advances in understanding the causes of illness and disease Study Guide
• Modern approaches to medical treatment Study Guide
• Modern approaches to the prevention of illness and disease Study Guide
• Modern improvements in diagnosis Study Guide
• New 19th century ideas about the causes of disease and illness Study Guide
• Renaissance approaches to treatment and prevention Study Guide
• Renaissance changes in anatomy and surgery Study Guide
• Renaissance ideas about disease and illness Study Guide
• The Black Death Study Guide
• The development of magic bullets and antibiotics Study Guide
• The fight against lung cancer in the 21st century Study Guide
• The growth of hospital care in the 19th century Study Guide
• The Liberal reforms and public health Study Guide
• The nature and importance of Islamic medicine and surgery Study Guide
• The role of Christianity in Medieval medicine Study Guide
• The welfare state and the NHS Study Guide
• William Harvey Study Guide