Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The Black Death is thought to have originated in the dry plains of Central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road, reaching Crimea by 1343. From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships, spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europe's total population. In total, the plague may have reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million down to 350–375 million in the 14th century. The world population as a whole did not recover to pre-plague levels until the 17th century. The plague recurred as outbreaks in Europe until the 19th century. . . . The plague repeatedly returned to haunt Europe and the Mediterranean throughout the 14th to 17th centuries. . . . According to Geoffrey Parker, "France alone lost almost a million people to the plague in the epidemic of 1628–31." [Wikipedia]