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The effect of colonization in latin america
Latin america colonization
The effect of colonization in latin america
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As economics begins to grow, indentured servitude began to take place and natives were sold to work for companies. One of the first few mistakes that the English did was build their fort on a swampy peninsula which was full of diseases. Another mistake they made was not educating themselves on growing crops which left them with no food. This led them to stealing food from the natives. While Davidson mentions the mass death of Europeans due to diseases and malnutrition, Axtell touches on how the Europeans spread diseases that the natives had never been introduced to, killing a lot of natives.
The Columbian Exchange was the movement of people, animals, goods, plants, diseases, and microorganism that occurred in the sixteenth century. The effects of The Columbian Exchange on early American society were extensive. One of the most devastating effects was the spreading of disease that killed around ninety percent of the Native American population. When Europeans came to the New World they brought with them diseases such as, “smallpox, measles, typhus, and cholera”(document one). The native’s immune systems were not prepared to fight theses diseases and this lead to a catastrophic amount of fatalities.
They forced the Native Americans to convert religions, brought disease, and took away their homes and families. One of the worst things that happened to the natives was disease. Smallpox had spread to the Native Americans and their immune system wasn't used to it. PubMed says, ¨Native American populations were exposed to new infectious diseases, diseases for which they lacked immunity.¨(Katherine B 2002)
The Age of Exploration is what causes Americans to now celebrate Columbus Day. The Age of Exploration inspired Christopher Columbus to sail west to find the Northwest Passage and wealth. Although it is believed that Columbus was not the first to make it to the New World his discovery caused massive change. The Age of Exploration sparked by the desire of more successful trade routes and goods set off the momentous, Colombian Exchange which led to the spread of disease and swop of animals as well as crops. The Age of Exploration was initiated by the Europeans because of their desire for luxury goods from Asia and a faster way of getting them.
When the Europeans arrived in the country more than 50% of the Native Americans died. Most of the deaths were caused by smallpox and starvation. When they died from smallpox it decreased the number of people growing crops which then led on to starvation. The deaths of the Aztec and Incan broke out war, which causes the disease to spread even more.
These diseases are very malignant and leave many dead. The diseases that came among the Native Americans were, “a great sickness. killing vast numbers of people”(Doc.2). The diseases did not kill only a few people, the “diseases killed possibly more than three-quarters of the native peoples,”(world civilizations,800). As you can see, these diseases were very ruthless and killed almost all of the Native Americans.
The Columbian Exchange was exchange of crops, animals and diseases from the Old World to the New World. The exchange seems mutually beneficial, with the Old World getting new crops such as tobacco, and the New World getting the basic cereal crops which the Old World survived on for centuries and livestock such as horses and cattle, but along with all the valuable crops and animals also came disease. The main reason why the Columbian Exchange came to be was the explorer, Christopher Columbus, discovered the Americas when searching for India, and other Europeans subsequently followed his path to the New World. Columbus was looking for India and the Spice Islands, which had, hence it name, many spices that could be sold for a huge profit back
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
Smallpox and measles successfully wiped out majorities of native populations creating a much easier path to victory for the Europeans. But not just disease ensured victory for the Europeans. Poor political decisions and societal hierarchy within native societies contributed to their own
In addition to the horrors that occurred, the Europeans brought over a multitude of diseases including Smallpox, Measles, Typhus, and Cholera, for which Native Americans had no immunity. Inevitably, the population began to rapidly decline, and by the end of the century, the native population was declared extinct ("History vs. Christopher"). The migration of Europeans and diseases had diminished an entire population conveying how the Americas had been greatly affected by the movement of people. Due to this act of genocide, the Taino people were unable to maintain their cultural practices and pass them down to future generations. Many Taino traditions and beliefs were lost because of the
ey helped establish food supplies and communication between settlements. Furthermore, as settlements were communicating with increased speeds due to horses, they started to develop better techniques and technology. Technology was also a part of the Columbian Exchange, due to the fact that it increased resources and necessities for production broad on technological advancements. In addition, the Old World technology arrived in the New World in the form of a written alphabet that enhanced communication with natives, improved architecture allowing for more people to settle in smaller colonies, and better weapons that were used to efficiently hunt animals (Wallenfeldt 81). This in turn allowed settlers to have better protection from native wildlife and animals.
It is estimated that approximately 95% of pre-Columbus Native Americans were killed by European diseases. Since the outbreak of the diseases spread because of the European colonization, it made conquering the Americas much easier. Health was definitely the most detrimental obstacle that the Native Americans had to face as a result of the European
As the Europeans found native along the coasts of the New World, they found them easily malleable and able to be used, so they enslaved them and those who fought back were wiped out. Europeans, as well as the Africans, had built up a resistance to many diseases such as smallpox and were therefore not really affected as much by the diseases if they became sick. However, the Native Americans had not had contact with the disease and it quickly spread rapidly and slowly helped the Spanish rid themselves of the natives so they could take control of the land. Geoffrey Cowley offers insight on just how profound the effect of smallpox was when he writes, “ ...When the newcomers arrived carrying mumps, measles, whooping cough, smallpox, cholera, gonorrhea and yellow fever, the Indians were immunologically
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.
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
