What happened to Native Americans when America was discovered?

European invasions of the Americas began with Columbus’s voyages to the “New World” in 1492. The Europeans brought diseases with them, including smallpox and measles. These unfamiliar diseases spread quickly among Native Americans. They wiped out the populations of many native cities.

What was the main cause of the decline of the Native American population after contact with Europeans?

While epidemic disease was a leading factor of the population decline of the American indigenous peoples after 1492, there were other contributing factors, all of them related to European contact and colonization. One of these factors was warfare.

When did Native Americans decline?

1492
Native American populations declined between 1492 and 1900 CE, instigated by the European colonization of the Americas.

What happened to Native American lands during the 1800s?

After siding with the French in numerous battles during the French and Indian War and eventually being forcibly removed from their homes under Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, Native American populations were diminished in size and territory by the end of the 19th century.

Why did Native Americans come to America?

The prevailing theory proposes that people migrated from Eurasia across Beringia, a land bridge that connected Siberia to present-day Alaska during the Last Glacial Period, and then spread southward throughout the Americas over subsequent generations.

How did the 17th and 18th century epidemics affect Native American populations?

Though many epidemics happened prior to the colonial era in the 1500s, several large epidemics occurred in the 17 th and 18 th centuries among various Native American populations. With the population sick and decreasing, it became more and more difficult to mount an opposition to European expansion.

Why are there so many Native American tribes?

There are as many different tribal nations in the Americas as there are nations in Europe, Asia, or Africa, and there is as much variety among them. Ten thousand years ago, when the Ice Age ended, changes in climate and increasing populations inspired some Native American tribes to experiment with growing different crops.

How did humans get to North America?

Many thousands of years ago, late in the Ice Age, humans journeyed across the Bering land bridge, from Asia into Alaska. Their descendants explored along the west coast of North America.

What is the timeline of Native American history?

Native American History Timeline. As explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt. Years before Christopher Columbus stepped foot on what would come to be known as the Americas, the expansive territory was inhabited by Native Americans.