How The Native American Diseases Affected The New World

Several diseases impacted the New World, specifically the Native American populations as they were the primary inhabitants of the New World. Some of the diseases included influenza, smallpox, typhus, and measles just to name a few. These diseases were introduced to the New World through Europeans as they began their exploration of the New World. The continuous movement of humans and animals infected the current occupants that is the Native Americans. The Native Americans suffered greatly as they were exposed to the many new diseases foreign to them upon the European contact. However, I consider the Native Americans to have possibly contributed partly to their decrease in population in addition to the mass movement of human and animal trafficking. Just as Foner described, “the American continents were thrown into continuous interaction” (2014 p.1). …show more content…
The New World upon European contact I would describe as a melting pot of disease and disaster for the Native American populations. Moreover, the “Europeans also carried germs previously unknown to the Americas” according to Foner (2014 p.21).
The Native Americans were hit with an overwhelming amount of disease infested traffic. The Native Americans, unaware of these foreign diseases appeared ill-prepared in handling the diseases. The unknown diseases to them resulted in a devastating amount of lives lost within their culture. They were caught off guard by the sudden incoming flow of traffic to their land. Additionally, because they never been exposed to such diseases they lacked overall knowledge in the diseases and more importantly how to