Related
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The Indians and European Diseases
The diseases struck first in villages which the Indians shared with Europeans – but as they saw the ravages of the diseases, many Indians fled back to their homes in the forests, unwittingly carrying the diseases with them. This caused even larger numbers of Indians to die. More Indians died as a result of imported European diseases than as a result of wars with the Europeans. These days, smallpox is regarded to be extinct – but tuberculosis can still be a problem among the Indians living in Amaz⌠nia.
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American
Indians' contact with the Europeans resulted in the
spread of new diseases that the Indians had never
previously encountered. These diseases had little effect
on the Europeans because they had got used to them
generations ago and had built up immunities that
protected them. The Indians had no such immunity, and
died in devastating epidemics that almost wiped out
entire tribes. The most common diseases were smallpox and
tuberculosis.
