Could Castors Really Have Helped To Cure The Black Death?

By Author: Mark Farrell
Total Articles: 56
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When the swine flu outbreak hit Mexico, the United States, the UK and various countries in Europe during 2009, the whole world went in panic mode, worrying about how many would die as a result of it. Disease related panics seem to be a global phenomenon these days thanks to the availability of information on the Internet but thanks to health care and technology, any modern outbreaks are likely to be far less serious than those consigned to the annals of history. Take the Black Death for example. The outbreak that hit Europe between 1347 and 1350 claimed around 100 million lives in total worldwide. Although exact figures are not known, the global population reduced from 450 million in 1300 to about 350 million in 1400. It seems silly to suggest that something as small as a castor could change that, but could castors really have made a difference with a pandemic of that size?

The answer is yes, realistically it could have had an impact. In fact, castors could have helped to treat all of those suffering with the illness without compromising the quarantine, thus resulting in better care. Of course, nothing would have actually ...
... stopped the outbreak because it was carried by rats and effectively crossed the world via sea because they often climbed on board and travelled with cargo. However, any improvement made to medical care may have helped to save lives.

At the time of the Black Death, medical knowledge had not made any significant advances for some years and there were plenty of theories as to why it was spreading. Some put it down to God, others thought it was airborne. Either way, there were few people willing to come into contact with those suffering from the disease. As such, trolleys with castors attached would have been ideal. All they would have had to have done was to put food and the few medical supplies that had been discovered then on the trolley and push it into an infected house. No contact would have been required and people would not have been isolated but instead would have been able to have access to poultices, clean dressings and herbs. The trolleys would also have been useful for taking bodies away rather than leaving the dead laying around and spreading infection.

As you can see, a trolley with castors like the BZH series zinc plated ones would have been brilliant for helping to treat the Black Death and potentially increasing the number of survivors. Holding 40kg to 650kg, they would have been more than strong enough to cope with the rigours of the 14th Century. It would be silly to think that something so small could have halted the Black Death in its tracks but the innovation could certainly have helped to ease the burden on those confined to their homes looking after relatives with a disease that was almost impossible to cure without supplies.

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