Columbus

The smallpox epidemic arrived in Mexico by the Spanish expedition led by Papino de Narvaez and spread throughout the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in the late 16s. Photo: shutterstock

How the modern world was shaped by plagues 500 years ago

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Epidemics of virgin soil - ones that the local inhabitants had not yet encountered - wiped out most of the native populations in America. The lack of local labor made it necessary to import slaves. This established the supremacy of Europe. It's possible