when was the black plague

The “Black Plague” (Black Death) most commonly refers to the great pandemic that struck Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa between about 1347 and 1352.

Quick Scoop

• Most historians date the Black Death pandemic to roughly 1346/1347–1352.

• It likely began in Central or East Asia, then moved along trade routes to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and across Europe and North Africa.

• In Europe alone it killed an estimated 25–30 million people, over one‑third of the population.

• Plague outbreaks continued to recur in waves into the 17th century (for example, major outbreaks in London in 1592 and 1665).

So, if you’re asking “when was the Black Plague?” in the historical sense, people usually mean the first great wave of the Black Death in the late 1340s through the early 1350s.