Research Paper on:
Aboriginal People and European Diseases

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
undoing. The simplest greatest cause of disease in America was epidemic diseases imported from Europe" (Grosso, 2003). These diseases essentially took on epidemic proportions as they entered into new territory  and new people. As Grosso (2003) indicates, "The great plague that arose in the Old World never emerged on their own among the western hemisphere and did not spread across  oceans until Columbus discovery." Many believe that such infectious diseases, and their killing of native peoples, is nothing more than nature taking its course, or the gradualist theory. Others  see it as a clear and potent event that killed the natives or diminished their size considerably, this being the theory of the catastrophists. In all honesty, is perhaps a  combination of the two, for the diseases surely brought quick devastation in many ways, but yet the events are nothing more than diseases taking their own course. Bearing that in  mind we examine diseases and native people and then discuss that material as it applies to catastrophist and gradualist theories. The Diseases and the People "The first epidemic  of the New World was small pox. It arrived on Hispaniola in 1518 exterminating the native Taino population" (Grosso, 2003). From there it traveled to Mexico as expeditions continued. One  author notes that "On the night that the Aztecs drove Cortez out of Mexico City, in their retreat the Spaniards left behind an invisible killer that would prevent the Aztecs  from following and destroying the broken army. This invisible killer was small pox" (Grosso, 2003). As the Aztecs contracted the disease the enemy was given time to recoup and regroup.  "The epidemic lasted for about two months allowing the Spaniards to reorganize their forces. This is clearly an example of how infectious diseases upon Amerindian populations explains the ease of