Native Americans--Pre-Contact

Relations between early European explorers and Native Americans in North America got off to a rough start. The Europeans were invasive, selfish, and over-powering, and they offered the Native Americans little in return for their demands. Any Natives who chose to resist the Europeans were often met with aggressive behavior and punishment. Eventually, the Native Americans stood up for their tribe and fought back, and with neither side backing down, bloodshed became commonplace. Many lives were lost on both sides of the war effort, but the numbers are pale in comparison to the death toll that amounted from causes off of the battlefield. This paper will provide evidence that the Native American population was severely decimated by factors other than direct violence with European settlers. Specifically, it will explain the types and severity of diseases brought from Europe to North and Central America and how they affected the Native Americans, the impact that the introduction of alcohol initially had on the Native Americans, and explain how that impact continued to affect members of Native American tribes long after the battles had ceased. Prior to European exploration efforts, Native American tribesmen enjoyed a relatively disease-free environment. Epidemics ravaging through civilizations thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean were isolated in Europe, and Native Americans were focusing on hunting and farming rather than their health. However, this quickly changed following the very first encounters with European explorers. As Christopher Columbus and his crew landed on islands in the Caribbean, viruses that were brought with them from Europe were transmitted to the unsuspecting Natives. A small epidemic eventually spread throughout the island of Cuba, and it is believed to have reached the American mainland “by Chontal Maya merchants who regularly sailed between Yucatan and Cuba” (Examiner). In time, this disease, which was unknown at the time, spread to other Native American tribes in Central and North America. By 1513, the disease had spread as far as the southeastern portion of the United States, and entire villages had been devastated and abandoned, while other areas survived but were severely weakened. In 1520, Hernan Cortes planned an attack on the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, but it was “estimated that 40% of its population died of the disease” (Examiner). With this help, Cortes was successful in his attempt to conquer the Aztec Empire. Unfortunately, the Aztecs were not the only group who fell victim to the unintended biological onslaught. Francisco Pizzaro led a very small army south through Central America and easily defeated the Incan Empire in 1528, while Hernando de Soto trekked north and conquered areas in the southeastern United States (Examiner). These invasions would have been nearly impossible in the late 15th century, but because the indigenous peoples had not been exposed to diseases of the East, European explorers came out of Central America victorious. Several different Old World diseases affected the Native Americans, including influenza, measles, and cholera. When the estimated death totals of diseased Natives in Central America are combined, the numbers are astonishing. The Native American population in Mexico fell by over 20 million, Peru by over 8 million, and Hispaniola’s entire Native civilization nearly went extinct, all before the beginning of the 17th century. To put these numbers in perspective, “the Native population of North America fell by 74 percent between 1492 and 1800, while that of the American hemisphere as a whole plummeted by 89 percent between 1492 and 1650” (Calloway 84-85). Without a doubt, the most devastating of the Old World diseases was smallpox. In Europe, the disease was certainly capable of being fatal, but was much more controllable than in the Americas, as proven with statistical evidence. According to historian Melissa Sue Haverson, mortality rates for smallpox in Europe during this time was estimated at around 30%, compared to rates that were doubled or even tripled in certain Native American tribes. The Omaha and Blackfeet tribes were estimated to have a 66% mortality rate once smallpox was contracted, while the Mandan tribe’s was 90% and the Taino’s were 100% fatal (Haverson). The diseases brought to Central America by the Spanish explorers in the 16th century were not the only cases that affected Native Americans. On the western coast of the United States, the Tongva and Chumash tribes were introduced to disease by explorers in the late 18th century. Based on modern demographic studies, the Native American population found in California before Spanish explorers arrived might have been the biggest in the United States, and their birth to death proportions were equal (Trafzer and Weiner 17). However, this quickly changed, as Spanish missionaries separated the Natives by gender, and the explorers began to sexually assault the women. The close contact easily spread the cases of diphtheria, typhoid, and smallpox, while also introducing sexually transmitted diseases. “The population rapidly became saturated with syphilis, weakening the already staggering population and creating an alarming number of sterility cases” (Trafzer and Weiner 22). Ultimately, these “filthy and disease-ridden missions were the principal cause for the decline of the [Californian] Indian population, especially among females […], which took a steady toll on Indian lives (Trafzer and Weiner 19). The second factor other than direct violence that led to countless Native American deaths is the introduction of alcohol. Prior to European contact, only a few Native tribes were experimenting with fermented alcohol, and the beverages that were made had a very weak alcohol content. Because of this inexperience, the hard liquor and wine brought to America by Europeans quickly became popular. Native peoples learned from the heavy-drinking colonists, and were soon indulging in similar manners. It became a tool for the Europeans during trade talks, as the intoxicated Native Americans were ineffective at bargaining, yet were still more than happy to make an agreement (Beauvais 253). Unfortunately, the alcohol rapidly became an issue for the Native Americans, as they were unable to limit their drinking or find “moral guidelines” to keep them rational. For some Native tribes, the introduction of alcohol was simply a different form of mind-alteration for religious purposes. Many indigenous cultures relied on mind-altering practices such as sleep deprivation and fasting, while others turned to substances like peyote, tobacco, and jimsonweed in order to be spiritually connected with one another (Frank, Moore, and Ames 347). With alcohol, a different type of intoxication was presented to the Natives; some would drink and become anti-social, while others would become very active. Either way, drinking alcohol became a “shared spiritual experience” that was “invested with expectations of improved well-being, as opposed to individual enjoyment or entertainment” (Frank, Moore, and Ames 348). Unfortunately, those engaging in this new activity were unaware of the harmful consequences that heavy drinking can cause. Although alcohol consumption did not directly cause death among Native Americans, it certainly was a determining factor. First of all, these early cultures did not have protective rules established, which increased the likelihood of alcohol poisoning. The heavy drinking also led to unhealthier lifestyles, weakening their immune system and ultimately making the Natives more susceptible to deadly diseases. Finally, and perhaps most important, is that alcohol is highly addictive, and the repeated abuse of the substance increases one’s probability of becoming dependent on it. “Early demand, with no regulation and strong encouragement, may have contributed to a ‘tradition’ of heavy alcohol use passed down from generation to generation, which has led to the current high level of alcohol-related problems” found in Native Americans today (Beauvais 253). From the very first experiences that Native Americans had consuming alcohol, to generations of individuals reliant upon it, the effects of alcoholism became a mainstay in many indigenous peoples. By bringing in empirical data, one can easily see how the affects of the early assault of binge drinking on ancestral Natives are still felt today. According to a study conducted in 2010, 26% of deaths among Native American men are alcohol-related, while 13% of deaths of Native American women were due to alcohol (Szlemko, Wood, and Thurman 436). When comparing these percentages to the average percentage of alcohol-related deaths in the United States—3.5%—the discrepancies are frightening. While other factors may have helped to contribute to the ridiculously high percentage of alcoholism present in Native Americans, the first encounters are a viable candidate for the primary cause. Through the use historical context and experimental data, this paper showed how Old World diseases and the introduction of alcohol contributed to the decimation of the Native American population during the colonization era. Undoubtedly, the skirmishes that took place between European explorers and Native tribes accounted for a large portion of deaths, but illness and alcoholism played a very important role as well. In an attempt to conquer new lands for their respective countries, Europeans nearly wiped out the entire Native American population, and left them with difficult circumstances to overcome.