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Although vastly outnumbered by native peoples,
the Europeans had several advantages. Their weapons and technology were
superior to those of the Indians. Additionally, the Spanish had powerful
allies which even they did not understand. These invisible allies were disease-bearing germs to which the natives had no
immunity. Smallpox, measles, cholera, typhoid, and venereal disease decimated
the Indian tribes. |
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Even diseases that were considered mild
by Europeans, like chicken pox, had disastrous results in native communities. When
the Spaniards arrived, the Caddos were the largest native group in Texas. By
1800, devastated by smallpox, they had dwindled to only a few families. |
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“An estimated 400 of the Lipans
died of the sickness.” |
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Governor Cabello, 1780 |
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