Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Rats? Children? The Mongols? The Black Death swept across the world with terrifying speed, but who (or what) was really to blame?
Louise Quick, with the help of the public and medieval historians Dr Eleanor Janega and Helen Carr, is on a mission to uncover the true culprit behind one of the deadliest pandemics in human history: the Black Death.
0:00 - What was the Black Death?
6:58 - The Rat Myth: Were Rodents to Blame?
12:37 - Poor Hygiene & Medieval Sanitation Myths
20:34 - How Global Trade Spread the Plague
27:00 - Ancient Biological Warfare: The Mongol Theory
34:21 - The Final Verdict: Who was Responsible?
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: bit.ly/45Y4Oyg
#WhosToBlame #HistoryHit #BlackDeath #Medieval
Rats? Children? The Mongols? The Black Death swept across the world with terrifying speed, but who (or what) was really to blame?
Louise Quick, with the help of the public and medieval historians Dr Eleanor Janega and Helen Carr, is on a mission to uncover the true culprit behind one of the deadliest pandemics in human history: the Black Death.
0:00 - What was the Black Death?
6:58 - The Rat Myth: Were Rodents to Blame?
12:37 - Poor Hygiene & Medieval Sanitation Myths
20:34 - How Global Trade Spread the Plague
27:00 - Ancient Biological Warfare: The Mongol Theory
34:21 - The Final Verdict: Who was Responsible?
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: bit.ly/45Y4Oyg
#WhosToBlame #HistoryHit #BlackDeath #Medieval
