impacts of European on Cherokee tribes?

Question

what were some of the impacts on Cherokees because of European contact?

Answer 1

There were two major ones: Disease and loss of their lands.

With the advent of European colonization, the Cherokee's worked hard to change to the new realities. They were quick to adopted many of the European's ways and technologies. By the start of the 19th century they had developed a written language, has a newspaper and most important had established a democratic government to rule themselves and to interact with the federal government.

Due to greed and pressure from settlers, the United States government ordered the removal of the entire Cherokee Nation. Their lands were taken and the nation was forced westward into Oklahoma and Arkansas. This removal is today known as "The Trail of Tears." It began in 1838 and resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 Cherokee's.

Not all the Cherokee's were removed. Some received permission to stay while others fled into hiding. Years later they were allowed to remain.

The tribe and nation is still functional today.

When Europeans first came to the Americas they inadvertently introduced a number of diseases. These included forms of Tuberculosis, measles, cholera, typhus, and smallpox.

Native Americans had little immunity to any of these imported diseases. The migration route into the Americas had been through arctic regions. The cold acted as a "filter" preventing some diseases from entering. During their thousands of years of isolation, the inhabitants of the Americas had avoided the disease that swept through the rest of the world. However, this also meant that they had no immunity, protection from these same illnesses.

As a result, fully half the population became ill when exposed to smallpox. Worse, they often contracted the diseases most virulent form, variol major. This form is hemorrhagic and attacks the heart, lungs and liver. Similar infection rates were found with the other imported diseases.

While the diseases weren't spread as a deliberate policy or as a form of germ warfare there are recorded instances where deliberate attempts were made to spread the disease. During Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763, Lord Amherst is recorded as trying to spread smallpox through infected blankets.

Europeans knew to avoid contact with those that were sick and had some ideas of how illness spread. However, they neither knew about germs or how susceptible Native Americans were to disease. As example, it wasn't until 1796 that an effective vaccination for smallpox was developed. Using smallpox as a germ warfare weapon could backfire.

One estimate is that 90% of the population decrease after 1492 was due to disease. Another estimate puts the death by disease at 3,500,000 Native Americans.

Over time, Native Americans developed some immunity to diseases. Medical care also was improved and extended to all Americans. However, the impact of European diseases on the Native Americans was immense.

Answer 2

Genocide. From the time Columbus arrived until final "Indian" removal over 100 million of us were killed. The greatest genocide the world has EVER known.