23. Cortes Also Brought Diseases
Along with superior military weapons and tactics, Cortes and his men brought diseases, like smallpox, to the indigenous people, who did not have an immunity built up against them. Many, many of the indigenous people in present-day Mexico died of these diseases. While accidentally getting someone else sick can hardly be considered a violation of human rights, one can’t rule out the possibility that biological warfare, in which the Spanish intentionally infected the indigenous people, was used.