We often hear indigenous peoples died from disease introduced by European settlers in North and South America. If indigenous peoples there were susceptible to eradication by unfamiliar disease why is the same not true of disease and death to settlers? Or is it true but more easily overcome?
In: Biology
European colonists did die of disease, especially as they got closer to the equator. Until the discovery of quinine, exploring Sub-Saharan Africa was a death sentence for Europeans.
Native Americans had no genetic immunity diseases that the Europeans carried for several reasons. Native Americans were not especially genetically diverse, and they did not have domesticated animals that are usually the vector for disease.
West Africans are actually less susceptible to tropical disease, especially malaria (sickle cell trait). Africans made attractive slaves in the new world because they died of tropical disease at lower rates than natives or Europeans (this does not justify slavery however).
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