Spread of Disease by European Settlers

Native populations are devastated by diseases brought over by European settlers

Europeans begin to travel to and settle in the Americas. Along with new tools and goods for trade, they bring diseases against which native populations have no immunity. It is estimated that by 1616 45,000 Massachusetts locals (80% of the population) died from small pox, plague, yellow fever, and other illnesses. When missionaries begin arriving in the 1600s to convert native people to Christianity and acculturize them to European life, they are met with mixed results; some native people believe converting could help protect them from European enemies and their diseases, while others refuse to conform.