Dobyn Low Counter

The terms low counter and high counter refer to the two schools of thought regarding the number of people living in the “new world” at the time Columbus arrived. James Mooney proposed the low counter argument and calculated there were 1.5 million inhabitants when Columbus arrived. Henry F. Dobyns developed the high counter theory by examining the records of the Jesuit priests in Northern Mexico and found indigenous people dying in large numbers from diseases. Dobyns asked the question, “ if this many people died, how many people had been living to begin with?” After careful analysis, Dobyns concluded there were more people living in the Americas than in Europe when Columbus arrived. While many have noted that the debate between high and low counters can never be definitively settled,it is important to examine the implications of both. The low counter argument implies the continent was nearly empty, and Europeans created a new civilization, while the high counter theory implies a greatly inhabited continent, and …show more content…
Prior to the French and Indian War, England and France had established a presence In North America. The English controlled New England, the mid Atlantic coast, and continued to grow in the American South. The French controlled land along the St. Lawrence River, through the Great Lakes, and down the Mississippi River. Between the French and English sat the Iroquois Confederacy. The French and Indian War started because French settlers and their Indian allies feared the continued expansion of the British settlements. The impact of the war was two fold. First, the French defeat allowed the British to take control of the new continent. Second, the British government taxed the colonies in order to recoup the cost of the war, and this is viewed as one of the first steps towards the American Revolution.