Another interesting point was that while we all hear of the casualty rate of native americans from contact with Europeans (90% which is staggering) it is less widely known that Europeans died in droves upon reaching the new world - estimates are in the 80% range. With Indians dying of everything and Europeans dying of malaria in droves the Europeans hit on an ingenious solution: African slavery. Malaria was rampant in Africa and those who did not die built up an immunity. That made them excellent candidates for slave labor.
Lucky bastards.
Lucky bastards.
