11. 1520 was the year Europeans brought smallpox to the Americas, leading to the deaths of millions of indigenous men, women and children
For the Spanish conquistadores, the year 1520 was one of triumph. For the native inhabitants of modern-day Mexico, however, this was a very dark year indeed. In fact, it could be argued that, due to the chaos and misery it led to, this was the darkest year in the history of the native peoples of the Americas. By this point, Hernan Cortes has already been in the Americas for a year. However, in April 1520, another group of Spaniards arrived into Veracruz, fresh from Hispaniola, bringing smallpox with them. Cortes defeated these newcomers, but one of his men contracted the disease. This meant it was brought right into the heart of the Aztec Empire.
Between 1520 and 1521, smallpox killed millions of native inhabitants of this part of America. Indeed, between 60-90% of the people are believed to have been killed. In his journals, the Spanish monk Motolinia recalled: “As the Indians did not know the remedy of the disease…they died in heaps, like bedbugs. In many places, it happened that everyone in a house died and, as it was impossible to bury the great number of dead.” Inevitably, Cortes was able to defeat the Aztecs with ease. The Incas shared the same fate, with smallpox doing far more damage than muskets ever could.