Title: The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
Headings: The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
Content: The original Taino population of about 600,000 in 1492 shrank in just 20 years to under 60,000 (Getz 62). It was common to see a drop of 90 percent or more in native populations. One hundred years after the conquest of Mexico, the indigenous population had decreased from twenty-five million to one million (68). In Peru, the Inca met a similar fate. This pandemic severely depopulated or wiped out all natives of the Americas. Why were European diseases so lethal to the Americans? To answer this question, we have to go back in time, before recorded history. The Eurasian continent included many large domesticable animals—such as horses, cows, oxen, sheep, and goats—that did not exist in the Americas. Over the course of thousands of years, Eurasians domesticated these animals and lived in close quarters with them. The animals were a great benefit but also transmitted all kinds of terrible diseases to the farmers.