Illness and the Conquest of the Americas
In his book, Born to Die, Cook explores the role the disease played in the European conquest of the Americas. Cook argues that contrary to the black legend, so popular in colonial times and since, Old World diseases were immensely more successful than Spanish cruelty and atrocities in conquering and subjugating the indigenous peoples of the Americas. . While not denying that there were atrocities committed by Spaniards, Cook insists… Continue Reading