Many Londoners believed the fire and plague signalled the end of the world. Which event does this belief pertain to?

• A. The Great Fire of London 1666
• B. Halley's Comet panic 1910
• C. The Millerites 1844
• D. The Y2K bug 2000

Answer: (A)

Disasters often spark apocalyptic thinking, especially when disease and fire strike back-to-back in a city. In London during the 1660s, the Great Plague of 1665–66 devastated the population, and soon after the Great Fire of London in 1666 swept through the capital. Because people interpreted such overwhelming calamities as divine judgment, many Londoners believed these events were signs that the world was ending. This belief is tied to the Great Fire of London in 1666, coming on the heels of the plague, and reflects how crises can fuel end-times thinking in a historical context. Other options describe different fears in other times and places (a comet scare in 1910, a 1844 American religious movement, or 2000’s Y2K worries) and aren’t tied to London’s 1666 disaster.