What historical event led to millions of deaths in the Americas due to disease exposure?

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The Arrival of European Diseases in the Americas Led to Mass Mortality

The introduction of infectious diseases by Christopher Columbus in 1492 initiated a catastrophic period of mortality in the Americas. Over the subsequent 150 years, millions of indigenous people succumbed to illnesses such as smallpox, measles, whooping cough, chickenpox, and typhus, to which they had no natural immunity. This demographic collapse was a direct consequence of the initial exposure to these pathogens brought by European explorers and colonisers.
European Exploration and Disease Transmission

Upon his arrival in the Americas in 1492, Christopher Columbus is credited with introducing a range of devastating European diseases. These included smallpox, measles, whooping cough, chickenpox, and typhus. These pathogens were entirely novel to the indigenous populations of the Americas, who had lived in relative biological isolation for millennia.
Devastating Impact on Indigenous Populations

The lack of pre-existing immunity among the native inhabitants meant that these diseases spread rapidly and with extreme virulence. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, in a 2010 publication, highlighted that this exposure resulted in the deaths of millions of indigenous people over the following 150 years. The impact was a profound demographic catastrophe, fundamentally altering the social and cultural landscape of the continents.

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What historical event led to millions of deaths in the Americas due to disease exposure?

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