Question

Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the Americas.

Answer 1

The Americas were colonised in the mid-sixteenth century. However, this was not due to the Spanish invaders’ superior military strength. The most powerful weapon of the Spanish conquerors was not a conventional military weapon, but rather the global spread of disease, which aided in the colonisation of the Americas. The Spaniards carried pathogens like smallpox with them to the Americas. Due to their prolonged seclusion, the locals lacked immunity to these diseases.

It resulted in the spread of these diseases across the continent. Smallpox, in particular, murdered and devastated countless civilisations, paving the way for the invasion and colonisation of the Americas. It was not a war. In May 1634, John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony in New England, claimed that smallpox was a sign of God’s blessing for the colonists. He stated that the natives were nearly all dead from smallpox, indicating that the Lord had cleared their title to what they possessed. Thus, weaponry could be purchased or captured and used against invaders, but not illnesses like smallpox, to which the conquerors were usually immune.