from 1520Reputable sourceWell documented
Smallpox and the Columbian Exchange
On the timeline · around from 1520 · Plague and Pestilence
What happened
When Europeans reached the Americas, they brought diseases — above all smallpox — to which Indigenous peoples had no immunity. Epidemics raced ahead of the conquerors, killing a huge share of Native American populations, in places 90% or more, and helping a few hundred Spaniards topple great empires.
Why it matters
The disease catastrophe of the Columbian Exchange was one of the greatest demographic disasters in human history, and it made possible the European conquest and colonization of the Americas.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Columbian Exchange · Reputable source
Related timelines
- The Age of Exploration → — Old World diseases and the conquest of the Americas
- The Aztec Empire → — Smallpox and the fall of the Aztec Empire