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Invisible Population Loss

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Prior to the discovery of the New World by Europeans, Native Americans populated what is presently North and South America in massive numbers; however, due to massive population loss, mainly caused by diseases introduced by Europeans and Africans, the Native Americans were unfortunately forced to live as inferiors to the Europeans. A major issue that faced native populations of the New World was the fact that the Europeans introduced foreign animals that carried diseases the natives had never seen before. Specifically in Mexico and Peru, the natives had alpacas and llamas in small and isolated groups, so diseases were not able to originate in them [McNeil 178]. On the other hand, the animals that the Europeans brought over, such as cattle, …show more content…

Stannard addresses this as the “‘invisible’ population loss,” because the settlers would have had no idea that these people had even died, since they hadn’t even reached that specific land yet [Stannard 268]. Furthermore, before the Spanish reached the pueblos in the southwest, the pueblo population could have been depleted due to epidemics [Upham 227-228]. The invisible population loss is what is still widely debated today as there is no way for researchers to know for sure exactly how many natives died. Nonetheless, Upham and Stannard both supply compelling evidence suggesting that this did happen, which severely depleted the populations prior to contact with Europeans in the New …show more content…

The imperial medical model was different than what the Native Americans were used to because it was based on science considering that they utilized medications and vaccinations and it caused the Native Americans to suffer immensely [Lecture 1/23]. Native Americans grew extremely desperate for these vaccinations, specifically for smallpox since the destruction the disease caused was so immense. For example, the desperation is illustrated in an entry of James Pattie’s journal as he recalls himself and fellow prisoner being asked if they had a vaccine [Pattie 1]. This desperation caused Native Americans to be taken advantage of by white settlers. For example many of the medical benefits treaties required the Native Americans to surrender their land in order for vaccinations [Lecture 1/23]. The desire for vaccinations led the Native Americans in present day America to lose much of their remaining

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Many people died from not only diseases, but also from hunger because they "could not get to search for food" and "everyone else was too sick to care of them, so they starved to death in their own beds" (Document 7). Document 2 shows that the effects of the diseases caused a large decline of population for the Native Americans– estimating a decrease of roughly 25 million people to 1.5 million people within about 85 years. Through the exchange of goods, the Americans imported a lot more than they intended. In effect of that, they killed many people and destroyed many civilizations. To make matters worse, they did not have any intentions of helping or caring for the people who they

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In fact, “Native Americans died in appalling numbers, in many cases up to 90 percent of the population.” The diseases were at its worst in the Aztec and Inca Empires since the people lived close together. However, in the old world, disease related deaths were not nearly as prevalent as in the Americas. The reason for this difference is that the Native Americans had no domesticated animals (except llamas), which resulted in no acquired immunities to old world diseases.

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No other transformation was more measurable in the west was the Assault on Indian way of life caught by miners and settlers who grasped their homes and federal Government extortion, (Doc C) by the 1890s Native Americans reservations had been the aftereffect on Most Indians, natives effortlessly combated to preserve their assets. Bison and buffalo had been their Linked article commonly utilizing it for food, clothing and trade. Promptly of the millions of

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Historians differ on what they think about the net result of the European arrival in the New World. Considering that the Columbian Exchange, which refers to “exchange of plants, animals, people, disease, and culture between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas after Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492,” led to possibly tens of millions of deaths on the side of the American Indians, but also enabled agricultural and technological trade (Henretta et al. 42), I cannot help but reflect on whether the effects should be addressed as a historical or a moral question. The impact that European contact had on the indigenous populations of North America should be understood as a moral question because first, treating it as a historical question is difficult due to lack of reliable historical evidence; second, the meaning of compelling historical claims is contestable as the academic historian perspective tends to view the American Indian oral history as invalid; and finally, what happened to the native Indians is morally repulsive and must be discussed as such. The consequences of European contact should be answered as a moral question because historically, it is hard to be historically objective in the absence of valid and dependable historical evidence.

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As European settlers witnessed the declining health of Native Americans to diseases believed to be endemic on American soil, colonists conceived that Native Americans’ mortality resulted from their bodily

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654 Words | 3 Pages

The European conquerors had built up an immunity to certain diseases that were common in Europe. Some of the diseases that decimated the Indian population included the following: smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus, and the bubonic plague. Centuries of living near livestock had basically inoculated the European settlers against these diseases. However the Indians were not used to such diseases, resulting in a dramatic decline in the Native American population. According to Diamond, smallpox was a major role in the domination of the Americas by the Europeans.

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Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South. One of the groups of people affected greatly by Manifest Destiny were the Native Americans. Manifest Destiny affected the American Indians by spreading foreign diseases to them as they moved Westward, through the Native American territory.

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Since Native Americans have a high rate of poverty they suffer more when it comes to health problems. It was stated that if healthcare providers were to take the time to learn about Native American culture, while also spending time within their communities. Native Americans would be more open to letting healthcare providers help take care of them when it is needed. In the end it is up to the healthcare provided to gain their trust so that we would be able to help them

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The government forced them to walk all the way to their relocation which caused countless deaths. There was the Sand Creek Massacre where militia from Colorado killed, raided, and plundered the Native American village. The dwindling population of Native Americans was caused by the bias against Native Americans in which led to their

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The Europeans came to America for many reasons but the biggest was wealth. One thing they brought with them was smallpox which had disastrous effects because the Cherokee’s immune system was never introduced to the disease. The medicine men were incapable of finding a cure so they went to the traditional purification treatment, sitting in sweat houses before wading in the chilling streams. This treatment only increased the number of deaths which was around 7,000 to 10,000 Cherokees. The Cherokees tribe suffered heavy losses due to the illness and at the end nearly half of the tribe was dead.

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For example, the smallpox vaccination was often thought of as a threat by the Native American people. Even in 1796 when Edward Jenner’s demonstration showed how the vaccine helped, the Native Americans still often refused it. They thought it was a way for the “white” people to harm them. After many natives refused to receive the vaccine several died.

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503 Words | 3 Pages

(document 12) The journey Columbus took spanned months so they almost certainly brought medicine. The reason Columbus didn’t help them was unknown but a known fact is that he didn’t bother to help them. Finally, the native American population got decreased by more than 24 million because of Columbus’ actions. The graph in document 13 show a decrease in the Native American population by 24 million people.

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603 Words | 3 Pages

Among the many things spread and shared in the Columbian Exchange, the trading of diseases is perhaps the most significant. The natives of the Americas had never experienced the serious diseases that European explorers carried over to the New World. From smallpox to influenza and malaria to cholera, Native American populations were drastically decreased due to their poor immunity. Between the numerous amounts of European diseases, though, measles was the most remarkable in that its effects were both widespread and enduring. Measles, also known as rubeola, is a respiratory infection caused by the measles virus.

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1513 Words | 7 Pages

The Colonisation of Latin America had a major negative impact on these indigenous people as the arrival in Latin America collided with 12,000 years of isolation from Eurasia which imposed many diseases on the natives. The natives were unable to fight of these diseases as they did not have the immune system for these types of sickness nor the appropriate medicine so many of them died as a result. These diseases included small pox, measles and influenza, bubonic plagues, cholera and tropical

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“1491” Questions 1. Two scholars, Erikson and William Balée believe that almost all aspects of Native American life have been perceived wrong. Although some refuse to believe this, it has been proven to be the truth. Throughout Charles C. Mann’s article from The Atlantic, “1491”, he discusses three main points: how many things that are viewed as facts about the natives are actually not true, the dispute between the high and low counters, and the importance of the role disease played in the history of the Americas. When the term “Native American” is heard, the average person tends to often relate that to a savage hunter who tries to minimize their impact on their surrounding environment.

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