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Difficulty: MediumThe Columbian Exchange

Source: Thomas Hariot, *A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia*, 1588

"Within a few days after our departure from every such town, the people began to die very fast, and many in a short space; in some towns about twenty, in some forty, in some sixty, and in one six score, which in truth was very many in respect of their numbers... The disease also so strange, that they neither knew what it was, nor how to cure it; the like by report of the oldest men in the country never happened before, time out of mind. A thing that may be worthy of the noting, that this misery fell on them only in those towns where we had been..."

Which of the following was a major long-term consequence of the demographic trend described in the excerpt?

  1. A catastrophic decline in Native American populations, which severely disrupted indigenous societies and later prompted the importation of enslaved African laborers.Answer
  2. B
    The rapid spread of New World diseases to Europe, which resulted in a similar demographic collapse across the European continent.
  3. C
    The creation of the encomienda system by Spanish authorities, which functioned primarily as a humanitarian land grant designed to protect Native populations from European disease.
  4. D
    The immediate unification of diverse Native American societies into a single, homogenous political alliance to resist European colonization.

Answer

A catastrophic decline in Native American populations, which severely disrupted indigenous societies and later prompted the importation of enslaved African laborers.
The correct answer is correct because European contact introduced deadly pathogens (such as smallpox, measles, and influenza) to Native Americans who lacked immunity. The resulting demographic collapse devastated native social structures, weakened military resistance, and ultimately forced European colonizers to transition from coerced native labor to the importation of enslaved Africans.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document.
The text describes an epidemic causing high mortality rates among Native Americans shortly after contact with Europeans.
Identifying the core subject (epidemics/demographic collapse in the Columbian Exchange) is necessary to determine the historical context.
2
Evaluate the choices in the context of Period 1 (1491–1607).
The option describing the catastrophic decline in Native American populations and the subsequent shift to enslaved African labor aligns with historical developments.
Connecting the demographic collapse of Indigenous populations to the rise of the transatlantic slave trade is a key cause-and-effect relationship in Period 1.

Key Concept

The Columbian Exchange and demographic collapse of Native American populations.
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Topics

The Columbian Exchange

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