The gendered dimensions of London’s last bubonic plague epidemic 1665–1666

Abstract

ABSTRACT There was a female bias in deaths during metropolitan London’s last epidemic of bubonic plague. This was unusual for the period and place, for on an annual basis, male deaths typically exceeded female deaths, a pattern that included prior plague years. This study examines this gender bias in mortality during the 1665–1666 epidemic through statistical analyses and a review of prior studies. Analyses of mortality data obtained from the London Bills of Mortality for the epidemic and the period reveal how unlikely female deaths exceeding male deaths was for early modern London. The historical studies are consulted to gain insights into insights into differential exposure to the disease based on gender. Greater female vulnerability accounts for the anomalous parity of female and male deaths. Increased deaths from childbed during the plague year drove the convergence of female and male deaths, and plague was likely a contributing factor in these deaths. Moreover, gendered divisions of labour based on the types of livelihoods afforded women compared to men, as well as the tasks assigned to recipients of public relief during the epidemic, resulted in greater exposure of women to plague. These drove up the proportion of female deaths during the plague year.