Título: Samuel Pepys
Seção: Great Plague
Background: Pepys was born in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street, London on 23 February 1633, the son of John Pepys (1601-1680), a tailor, and Margaret Pepys (nee Kite; died 1667), daughter of a Whitechapel butcher. His great uncle Talbot Pepys was Recorder and briefly Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridge in 1625. His father's first cousin Sir Richard Pepys was elected MP for Sudbury in 1640, appointed Baron of the Exchequer on 30 May 1654, and appointed Lord Chief Justice of Ireland on 25 September 1655. Pepys was the fifth of eleven children, but child mortality was high and he was soon the oldest survivor.

Conteúdo: Outbreaks of plague were not particularly unusual events in London; major epidemics had occurred in 1592, 1603, 1625 and 1636. Furthermore, Pepys was not among the group of people who were most at risk. He did not live in cramped housing, he did not routinely mix with the poor, and he was not required to keep his family in London in the event of a crisis. It was not until June 1665 that the unusual seriousness of the plague became apparent, so Pepys's activities in the first five months of 1665 were not significantly affected by it. Indeed, Claire Tomalin writes that "the most notable fact about Pepys's plague year is that to him it was one of the happiest of his life." In 1665, he worked very hard, and the outcome was that he quadrupled his fortune. In his annual summary on 31 December, he wrote, "I have never lived so merrily (besides that I never got so much) as I have done this plague time". Nonetheless, Pepys was certainly concerned about the plague. On 16 August he wrote: But, Lord! how sad a sight it is to see the streets empty of people, and very few upon the 'Change. Jealous of every door that one sees shut up, lest it should be the plague; and about us two shops in three, if not more, generally shut up. He also chewed tobacco as a protection against infection, and worried that wig-makers might be using hair from the corpses as a raw material. Furthermore, it was Pepys who suggested that the Navy Office should evacuate to Greenwich, although he did offer to remain in

user: What was the Great Plague?

assistant: Outbreaks of plague were not particularly unusual events in London; major epidemics had occurred in 1592, 1603, 1625 and 1636.

user: What was included in this plague?

assistant: It was not until June 1665 that the unusual seriousness of the plague became apparent,

user: What happened to the poor?

assistant: among the group of people who were most at risk.

user: Did they become sick?

assistant: It was not until June 1665 that the unusual seriousness of the plague became apparent,

user: Around what year was this happening?

assistant: 1666,

user: What was the cause?

assistant: plague

user: Did the plague ever come to an end?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

assistant: He also chewed tobacco as a protection against infection, and worried that wig-makers might be using hair from the corpses as a raw material.

user: Why was it so happy?

assistant: In 1665, he worked very hard, and the outcome was that he quadrupled his fortune.