Highland-lowland contrasts in the impact of old world diseases in early colonial Ecuador

Old World epidemics played a major role in the demographic collapse of native peoples after 1492. In estimating aboriginal populations it is often assumed that once introduced Old World diseases spread unhindered and their impact was uniform. This paper indicates that there were often marked regional differences in impact of Old World diseases which were related not only to environmental conditions, but also to the size and character of native societies. Drawing on research on the demographic history of early colonial Ecuador, it demonstrates that there were marked regional differences in levels of depopulation, particularly between the highlands and lowlands. It argues that the presence of tropical fevers provides an inadequate explanation for the higher levels of depopulation in the lowlands and goes on to suggest that regional differences in the impact of Old World diseases were influenced by the size of Indian populations, their settlement patterns, forms of subsistence, social organization and ideology. These affected not only disease mortality, but also the ability of native groups to recover.