What was the Black Death and why did so many people die from it?

The Black Death struck nearly every part
of the human body 

The Black Death was a nasty disease that was spread by fleas and black rats during the middle Ages. It began around central Asia in approximately 1333 and spread to Europe in 1347 beginning in Sicily Italy. After years of being carried back and forward by traders and travellers who would pick up the disease and take it back to their homes with them, it finally made it to England in 1348 and reached London a few months later . The Black Death started off as painful swellings called buboes (as in the bubonic plague) under the armpits or on the legs, neck or groin.  The buboes would start of red and change to dark purple or black (hence the name the Black Death). Victims would also vomit , get very high fevers, have muscular pains, become delusional and have bleeding in their lungs which is why most people died from the disease. Nearly all victims would die within 2 to 4 days. The plague also created a strong need to sleep which became fatal to most victims as they never woke up.During 1348, when the black death was at its peak in Europe, a man called Giovanni Boccaccio who was living in Florence Italy at the time, described what he saw the black death as. this is a shortened version;

"The first signs of the plague were lumps under in the groin or armpits. after this, livid black spots spots appeared on the arms, thighs and other parts of the body. Few Recovered and almost all died within three days". To read the full version of what Boccaccio described the plague as go to: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm.

A map detailing the origins of the black death in
Asia and spreading to the world

The children's television show Horrible histories also describes some symptoms of the Black death as a song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KHlIWpyJrQ

A timeline of the Black Death
 http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/timeline-of-the-black-death