I thought (probably wrong, not a historian) that it was disease that spread faster than the Europeans that brought it? As in, first contact happened, and then basically the continent died before any real settlement action could begin because of the diseases first contact brought?
European disease definitely spread faster than the Europeans themselves did, it’s just not certain what the exact chain of events was. It’s definitely not an area I’m extremely well-read in, but I know there’s speculation that the collapse of complex urban civilizations in what-is-now the USA and Canada may have started before Euro disease started rampaging through, for a variety of factors.
Undoubtedly, though, the massive disease death tolls put some sturdy nails in the coffin.
I thought (probably wrong, not a historian) that it was disease that spread faster than the Europeans that brought it? As in, first contact happened, and then basically the continent died before any real settlement action could begin because of the diseases first contact brought?
European disease definitely spread faster than the Europeans themselves did, it’s just not certain what the exact chain of events was. It’s definitely not an area I’m extremely well-read in, but I know there’s speculation that the collapse of complex urban civilizations in what-is-now the USA and Canada may have started before Euro disease started rampaging through, for a variety of factors.
Undoubtedly, though, the massive disease death tolls put some sturdy nails in the coffin.