The Mysterious Sweating Sickness That Overtook Tudor England in the 15th and 16th Centuries

Stefan Chin of SciShow explained how a mysterious disease known as sweating sickness overtook England in the Tudor Period during the 15th and 16th centuries and then just disappeared after that.

Between 1485 and 1551, England was hit by at least five epidemics of sweating sickness. But after that, the disease supposedly vanished off the face of the Earth. With fatality rates as high as 90% according to some sources (perhaps closer to 30-50% on average), and death often coming in less than a day, it was far more serious than its name might suggest. And scientists still aren't sure what caused it.

Chin also noted that disease did not exempt royalty, as in the case of Henry VIII who was so afraid of catching it that he left town. As did Anne Boleyn and her father, both of whom were not as lucky as the King.

We know that sweatingsickness freaked people out, especially Henry VIII. There are reports of him fleeing London in 1517 and again in 1528 to avoid those two epidemics, even as members of his household got sick. Including Anne Boleyn and her dad!

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