The Depopulation of Hispanic America After the Conquest- Population Decline in Post-Conquest America: The Role of Disease

摘要

In Conquest and El Dorado, Massimo Livi Bacci turns his eye to a controversial topic in historical demography: defining the magnitude of the demise of the aboriginal populations of the Western Hemisphere following European contact in 1492 and assessing its causes (Livi Bacci 2008, 2010). This is, of course, well-tilled soil, but Livi Bacci synthesizes past research with his own investigations at the Jesuit Archive (ARSI) in Rome, all infused with his considerable demographic acumen. The focus is on the Western Hemisphere landmass south of the Rio Grande and on the Antilles. The Indios (to use Livi Bacci's term) of North America, tribally more diverse but demographically less numerous, are covered only in passing. El Dorado in the Marshes, which overlaps a little with Conquest, focuses on the Mojos of what is now Bolivia.