Smallpox Americas

About Smallpox Americas

The introduction of smallpox to the Americas by European colonizers caused one of the largest demographic catastrophes in history. Smallpox reached Hispaniola in 1518 and Mexico in 1520, spreading rapidly through indigenous populations with no prior immunity. The Aztec Empire was devastated by smallpox in 1520, killing a large proportion of the population, including the emperor Cuitlahuac. The Inca Empire suffered similarly. By some estimates, 90 percent of the indigenous population of the Americas, approximately 50 to 60 million people, died from European diseases over the following century. Smallpox was the largest killer, followed by measles, influenza, and typhus. The disease was sometimes used deliberately as a biological weapon, as in the 1763 Fort Pitt incident, where British officers gave blankets from a smallpox hospital to Delaware emissaries, though the effect of this act is uncertain. The demographic collapse enabled European conquest and colonization. Smallpox was certified as eradicated globally in 1980, but its historical impact on the Americas remains unparalleled.