How Quickly Would You Die If You Suddenly Found Yourself In A Different Era Of History?
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TERRIBLE WAYS TO GO By

Vote up the eras you wouldn’t last a day in.
There are countless ways to die in different eras, but what were the deadliest historical eras? It’s an important question for any hypothetical time traveler. For example, will smuggling in antibiotics save you from the leading cause of death in 1800? How quickly would you die if you were transported to Florence in the 1300s, or India in the 1770s?

It might not be possible to completely escape the epidemics that nearly destroyed humanity, like the Black Death. After all, the plague completely changed the world. And then there’s the lesser-known diseases which were still completely deadly, like the medieval sweating sickness that could kill people in a single day.

When it comes to historical causes of death, there are thousands. But what’s going to kill you fastest? (hint: it’s probably bubonic plague.) So which era do you think you could survive? Vote for the place where you’ll take your chances and gamble against the odds.
Photo: user uploaded image

Would You Survive In a Different Era
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Constantinople, 500s
Constantinople, 500s
Photo: Josse LieferinxeWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
Constantinople, the richest city in the world and capital of the eastern Roman Empire – or, as it will soon be known, the Byzantine Empire. The powerful emperor Justinian has brought order and stability to the empire, along with building projects like the beautiful Hagia Sophia church.
How Can You Die?
One of the worst plagues in history, known as the Justinian Plague, swept through Constantinople in 542, killing as many as 50 million people, and up to 40% of the population of Constantinople. Unfortunately, surviving the initial onslaught didn’t mean much when outbreaks continued for the next 250 years.
The plague was caused by Yersinia pestis, the same bacterium that caused the Black Death a few centuries later, which means you only have four days, tops, if you get infected.
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Would this be the end of you?

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Florence, 14th Century
Florence, 14th Century
Photo: Giuseppe ZocchiWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
You’re in scenic Florence at the birth of the Renaissance. That dome on the horizon is just a mirage – it won’t be completed by Brunelleschi for a few more decades. But enjoy rubbing shoulders with intellectual giants like Petrarch and watching the rise of the Medici family. Just watch out for rats.
How Can You Die?
The Black Death. More that 60% of Florence’s population died in the first European outbreak of plague. Petrarch’s muse Laura died, and chronicler Agnolo di Tura wrote about mass graves “so sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies throughout the city.” He added, “I […] buried my five children with my own hands.” The plague could easily kill someone in three days.
And that wasn’t the only killer in the 14th century. The Great Famine started in 1315 and lasted for years, killing between 10-25% of Europe’s population decades before the plague struck.
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3,707 VOTES
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London, 1660s
London, 1660s
Photo: Rita GreerWikimedia CommonsFree Use
Where Are You?
Ah, scenic London in the 1660s! The Civil War is over, the monarchy has been restored, and all is well. A young Isaac Newton is hard at work on his undergraduate degree at Cambridge, and other than that silly little Anglo-Dutch war, England is mostly at peace. But wait, do you smell smoke?
How Can You Die?
The Great Plague struck London in 1665, and if your household became infected, you might have four days to live. A massive 15% of London’s population died in a single summer outbreak. But if you survive the plague, there’s a good chance the 1666 Great Fire of London will get you. 80% of the city burned down in just a matter of days.
And if plague and fire just seem too Biblical, the highest cause of death in mid-17th-century England was good old consumption and cough.
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2,717 VOTES
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Ireland, 1840s
Ireland, 1840s
Photo: Internet Archive Book ImagesWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
You’re on the beautiful emerald isle of Ireland, and it’s the 1840s. Sure, the British continue to treat your island like a colony rather than a member of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. And economically, Ireland isn’t doing so well. But maybe things will turn around?
How Can You Die?
The Irish Potato Famine struck in 1845. Over the next few years, a million people would die from starvation and disease in one of the worst food shortages in modern history. If you didn’t starve to death, there was a good chance you’d catch typhus or some other disease that would kill you. Starvation is a slow death, but typhus can kill in less than two weeks.
As many as two million people fled Ireland permanently. The famine was so bad that Ireland’s population in 1920 was still lower than it had been in 1800.
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2,311 VOTES
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North America, 1600s
North America, 1600s
Photo: Samuel de ChamplainWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
North America in 1600. Trees are blowing in the breeze, the sparkling, clean rivers are full of fish, and oh, look, who’s coming on that giant ship? Life is about to change drastically as European settlers arrive in North America, especially near Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay, where English settlers will quickly wage war against the Native Americans.
How Can You Die?
Here’s the bad news: when indigenous Americans were exposed to European germs for the first time, like smallpox, measles, and flu, somewhere between 90-95% of the indigenous population died. Smallpox didn’t reach North America until the 1600s, and in New England, 70% of the indigenous population died in 1633-34 from a smallpox outbreak.
Infected victims suffered from painful blisters that quickly spread the disease when they popped, killing people within 12 days.
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2,489 VOTES
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China, 200s BCE
China, 200s BCE
Photo: Carlos Adampol GalindoWikimedia CommonsCC-BY-SA-2.0
Where Are You?
Welcome to China in the 200s BCE. The Warring States period, where multiple kingdoms fought for control, is finally over, and the Qin Dynasty has promised to bring peace to China. China’s first emperor has guaranteed reforms that will transform China into a world power, but something’s not quite right about the look in his eyes.
How Can You Die?
China’s reforming emperor, Qin Shih Huangdi, also helped build the Great Wall of China, but he used a lot of forced labor. As many as one million people were sent to build the wall, and one report estimates that only a few tens of thousands survived. Death could be incredibly quick on the Great Wall, and if a fall didn’t kill you, starvation and mistreatment always could.
And sure, the emperor built the terra cotta warriors, but he also buried nearly 500 scholars alive. The war might have been over, but the emperor’s policies led to countless deaths.
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1,775 VOTES
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France, 1910s
France, 1910s
Photo: ABACAWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
France in the Belle Èpoque – the “beautiful age.” New technology like telephones and streetcars have changed life forever, and industrial output has tripled since the 1870s. It’s a time for celebrating, so no wonder liquor sales have tripled in the last few decades. And all those mutual defense alliances probably won’t cause any problems.
How Can You Die?
Welcome to the 20th century. A lot of you are going to die. World War I racked up 41 million casualties worldwide between 1914 and 1918. That included 1.4 million dead in France and over 4 million total casualties – French soldiers who went off to war only had a 25% chance of returning home unharmed.
But if you managed to survive the war, the Spanish Influenza killed as many as 300,000 in France and infected as many as 500 million worldwide. As many as 50 million died.
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1,799 VOTES
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India, 1770s
India, 1770s
Photo: William PrinsepWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
Welcome to India under British rule. The British East India Company controls much of the subcontinent, and, as of 1757, they also control Bengal. Sure, the British have plundered the Bengali treasury and only seem to care about profits. But what could go wrong with a company ruling a colonial empire during a period where shareholders were allowed to vote on governing policy?
How Can You Die?
Famine is the biggest cause of death. The Company ignored the drought in 1769, and by 1770 people were starving. The Great Bengal Famine eventually killed 10 million people – one third of the population in Bengal. Weakened by starvation, diseases like smallpox ravaged the population.
During the disaster, the Company raised the land tax and established a monopoly in grain trading. Sure, millions died, but it was great for profits – company profits doubled between 1765 and 1777.
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1,251 VOTES
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Ancient Rome, 1st Century
Ancient Rome, 1st Century
Photo: Thomas ColeWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
You’re in beautiful ancient Rome during the Golden Age. Sure, Augustus might have illegally seized power and ended the Roman Republic, but things aren’t looking so bad in the first century. The Colosseum and the Pantheon are being built, and they’ll stand for centuries as proof of Rome’s greatness. What could go wrong?
How Can You Die?
Unfortunately, you arrived in ancient Rome during summer, also known as the “sickly” months. While Rome might be in a Golden Age, that doesn’t stop infectious diseases from spreading. The big killers every summer are malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and gastroenteritis, which can kill in as little as a few days.
At least 30,000 people died each summer from infectious diseases. And if you survive the infections, make sure not to go out at night: crime was a major problem on the streets of Rome.
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1,628 VOTES
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Virginia, 1860s
Virginia, 1860s
Photo: Harper’s WeeklyWikimedia CommonsPublic Domain
Where Are You?
Welcome to Virginia in the 1860s. It’s not a great time to be a Virginian, since the Civil War has made Virginia a key battleground in the war between the United States and the Confederacy. Richmond was basically the capital of the Confederacy, and even after the South surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia continued to feel the effects of the war. And some were deadly.
How Can You Die?
The biggest killer in 1860s Virginia wasn’t the Civil War – which killed as many as 850,000 people – but the war did help spread a particularly dangerous disease: malaria. The endemic disease, spread by mosquitoes, may have killed over 50 billion people throughout history, typically appearing within 10 days of an infected bite.
As historian of medicine Margaret Humphreys argues, the Civil War brought “hordes of men into the swampy areas of the coastal south and along the major rivers, who then took the parasite home with them.” Over a million cases of malaria were reported during the Civil War alone.