As virus spreads, anxiety rises in China and overseas

[csziggy]

17. Wiping out a high percentage of a population causes severe cultural damage

Loss of knowledge, for one.

When European diseases killed off 90% of the indigenous populations of the Americas, the cultures basically had to rebuild in the face of the invasion of European peoples. Knowledge of hunting grounds, location of resources, and technologies made it much easier for Europeans to take over new territories. When the Pilgrims arrived, they were allowed to take a location whose native population had died in an epidemic. The neighboring groups at first were willing to let the newcomers live there since their own numbers were decimated and they were concerned that they would be invaded by other local tribes.

By the time Europeans were moving west the Indian populations had recovered enough to fight for their territories, thus beginning the genocidal wars that continued through the 1800s. If the Indians had not lost technologies and their cultural knowledge, the European invasion may not have been as effective and the political landscape would be completely different.