Historical Plague Outbreak Records Across Europe 1347-1900

Europe is covered by a dataset of 6,929 documented plague outbreaks spanning from 1347 to 1900 AD. The data was digitized by ENVIDAT from a historical inventory originally published in 1976. The dataset was last updated in 2019.

Use Cases

• Analyze outbreak frequency trends over the 553-year period using the recorded year of each event.
• Map the geographic spread of plague using the provided georeferenced coordinates in ETRS89 and WGS84 systems.
• Study the spatial clustering of the 6,929 outbreak locations to identify historical transmission corridors.
• Correlate outbreak timing and location with historical climate or population data using the geospatial and temporal features.

Strengths

• Contains records for 6,929 distinct historical plague outbreaks.
• Covers a long temporal range of over 550 years, from 1347 to 1900 AD.

Limitations

• The underlying source inventory was published in 1976, potentially missing newer historical research.
• Geographic coverage is limited to Europe, introducing a regional bias.
• Specific data columns and sample sizes per record are unknown, limiting detailed analysis.

Provenance

Source

Digitized from a historical inventory initially published in 1976.

Collection Method

Georeferenced using Tele Atlas 2009 information.

Time Range

1347 AD to 1900 AD

Freshness

Last updated in 2019.

Geography

Europe