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
Well the first is that many settlers did die of disease. Jamestown, Plymouth, and pretty much every other colony suffered heavily from disease (made worse due to poor conditions and malnutrition). Growth in these early colonies was slow and needed heavy backing.
Second is that while indigenous populations in the Americas had no immunity compared to Europeans, European settlers also exploited the ravaged populations and general societal breakdown via expansion. This lead to warfare (native groups fighting Europeans and/or native groups fighting other groups), expulsion, and slavery (encomienda system for example).
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