Essay structure: introduction, thesis, and body paragraphs

Native Americans

The Age of Exploration and Discovery enriched Europe, but it decimated the populations of both North and South America. From Christopher Columbus onward, European explorers and settlers encountered Native Americans when they arrived. Some of the encounters were relatively peaceful, but many turned violent. Even when the encounters were peaceful, Native Americans did not fare well after contact with the Europeans. There are several reasons why the Europeans were able to conquer the Americas and nearly wipe out the indigenous population. The three main reasons why Native Americans were vulnerable to conquest by European adventurers include their susceptibility to foreign diseases; their inferior military technology; and their lack of tribal unity.

Native Americans were vulnerable to diseases that the Europeans unwittingly carried or already had immunity against. Vulnerability to disease meant that the native communities were physically and psychologically weakened and unable to defend themselves. For example, "The Spanish also had a silent ally, disease. A smallpox outbreak of 70 days decimated the population of Tenochtitlan, enabling Cortes and his crew to infiltrate the city," ("The Creation of American Society, 1450-1763"). In some cases, disease was deliberately used as a military tactic: a biological weapon used to kill off large numbers of Native Americans without having to use expensive weapons. The use of disease as a biological weapon was so pervasive that it led one historian to fabricate a story about how the American government gave the Indians blankets that were tainted with smallpox (Brown). The smallpox blanket incident remains controversial, if not outright false, but the fact remains that disease was one of the reasons why Native Americans were vulnerable to conquest.

Another reason why Native Americans were vulnerable to conquest is that their weapons were no match for the European weaponry. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond talks about how societies like Native Americans were at a significant disadvantage vs. Europeans because the latter had been living in such close proximity to enemies that they naturally developed cutting-edge military technology. Europeans devoted a significant amount of capital to the development of weapons to fight amongst themselves. By the time they conquered the Americas, the Indians had only bows, arrows, and spears.

Finally, the indigenous people of the Americas were vulnerable because they were diverse and thinly populated. They had no strength in numbers. Although there were several tribal alliances and some tribes enjoyed control over vast portions of territory, they could not successfully align themselves in a united front against the foreigners. The Europeans took advantage of the situation, employing a divide and conquer policy that worked brilliantly. Some Native Americans trusted and developed bonds with the Europeans, thereby missing the opportunity to join forces with neighboring tribes that would soon be decimated.