The European colonization of the Americas fundamentally changed the lives and cultures of the resident Indigenous peoples. Altho
ugh the exact pre-colonization population-count of the Americas is unknown, scholars estimate that Indigenous populations diminished by between 80% and 90% within the first centuries of European colonization. The majority of these losses are attributed to the introduction of Afro-Eurasian diseases into the Americas. Epidemics ravaged the Americas with diseases such as smallpox, measles, and cholera, which the early colonists brought from Europe.
Overview. Colonization ruptured many ecosystems, bringing in new organisms while eliminating others. The Europeans brought many diseases with them that decimated Native American populations. Colonists and Native Americans alike looked to new plants as possible medicinal resources.Diseases: Europeans unknowingly brought with them diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza. Negative—Native Americans did not have natural immunities to these European diseases. As a result, millions of Native Americans died. You just studied 12 terms!
