Posted by dereklane on January 12, 2021, 9:08 am, in reply to "Yes and yes"
e indigenous population of the Americas achieved herd immunity after 95% of them were killed by viruses to which they were naive.
Hi dan, I have a problem with this statement, it whitewashes the comprehensive slaughter of indigenous Americans. There are enough records from s and n America to show that the reason why the indigenous population was decimated was mostly down to overt slaughter. Murder, systemic slaughter. Same as in oz. I have talked about this for years, it was a very real thing. Added to it was intentional infection with small pox, but from historical accounts I've read the actual slaughter and dispersal of indigenous populations (and in n America their food sources too) played a way bigger role.
No doubt lack of immunity to small pox didn't help but it wasn't the primary cause, just an easier one to accept by most colonialists. For decades in oz, people have been trying to rewrite that history as 'not our fault' but like everything in the me today, yes, it was.