Why the North American natives declined so much compared to Central and South America (general, Mexico)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just want to see some of your thoughts on this. Sadly the native 'Indians' are almost completely gone with the ones left being mixed with other races. Central and South Americans also had a lot of mixing over the centuries but there are clearly a lot more remnants left from the Aztecs, Mayans etc.
My guess is that since the Aztecs and Mayans lived in large cities, they may have developed better resistance to diseases that wiped out other tribes that lived in more isolated areas. Over time, people living in larger cities develop better immunity because they are exposed to more diseases.
Supposedly the indigenous population of Mexico dropped from 25 million to not much more than a million in the sixteenth century due to introduced disease but it was still nearly a pure population when it rebuilt, simply because there were so few European immigrants.
The Spaniards focused almost exclusively on resource extraction and very little on immigration, while the British were aggressive colonizers. Also, there were fewer people 'in the way' north of the Rio Grande than to the south. While pre-Columbian populations are difficult to nail down, it is certain that Central American populations were much more dense, and it is quite possible that the Aztec and Mayan civilizations numbered more total people than in all of what is now the United States and Canada. For these reasons, the indigenous populations further north were more easily pushed aside by, destroyed by, and genetically subsumed into the incoming European population.
Compounding this is the fact that the United States and Canada were generally more appealing destinations for Europeans after the independence of the various British and Spanish colonies for basic reason of opportunity - mostly, better land (and land more familiar to European immigrants), and to a lesser extent a reasonably equitable legal system that fostered economic opportunity.
For comparison, keep going south through the tropics until you get to Argentina. It features vast temperate plains rich with economic opportunity familiar to Europeans. As a result it was one of the world's great destinations for immigration European immigration over the last 200 years. And as a further result - as with the United States and Canada - it is overwhelmingly white.
There is no easy answer. There is some recent research on the decline of the pueblo Indian population as the Spanish moved into northern New Mexico. Coronado's expedition of 1540-42 was the first incursion of the Spanish into this area but the population held fairly steady until the 1620s or later when the missions were established. The population dropped about 87% after that. The research focus is the Jemez Mountain area northwest of Albuquerque. The San Jose de los Jemez Mission was established around 1621. A few Spanish haciendas had already been established in the upper Rio Grande valley as early as 1600 after the arrival of Governor Onate's expedition and the establishment of a colonial government at Ohkay Owingeh pueblo, renamed 'San Juan de los Caballeros'. The decline in this area seems associated with the arrival of the missions.
it is quite possible that the Aztec and Mayan civilizations numbered more total people than in all of what is now the United States and Canada.
By comparing the population estimates for the region and noting which number was higher.
Actually, I probably read it somewhere. Maybe in 1491 - I don't recall. Or maybe I just had a general (and generally accurate) perception that subtropical/tropical regions tend to have higher populations than temperate ones, and that farming civilizations make for much denser populations than peoples who are mostly hunter-gatherers (most of the pre-Columbian peoples north of the Rio Grande).
Anyway, I did I quick online check for various estimates before I posted and what I found backed up my initial thoughts.
NA tribes were too inbred. When whitey moved in, that was that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
