The history of Native Americans following Columbus' arrival is a sordid tale of subjugation, exploitation and ultimately devastation. The population was reduced to miniscule numbers due to abuse by Europeans and also exposure to European diseases.

Exploitation and subjugation began almost immediately. Upon landing in the Caribbean, Columbus noted

I could conquer the whole of them with fifty men, and govern them as I pleased.

Columbus almost immediately enslaved Indians, forced them to work searching for gold, and cut off the hands of those who did not meet their gold quota. He hanged those guilty of the slightest offense, whether real or perceived. Later treatment by the Spanish was no better. Indians were forced to work in gold and silver mines and sugar plantations. Since agriculture was considered woman's work in Indian culture, this was especially demeaning to the men who were thus subjugated.

Treatment in British America was likewise deplorable. The economy of South Carolina was originally based on the export of Indian slaves to the Bahamas for work on sugar plantations. Friendly Indians were often encouraged to make war on other Indians for the purpose of securing captives who could be sold into slavery. In Jamestown, land was taken from Indians with abandon, and Indians frequently killed as if they were vermin. In New England, an entire palisade of Indian women and children was set fire. Cotton Mather described the screams of those dying in the flames as a "sweet sacrifice" to God.

For all the atrocities committed wilfully, the most devastating factors were European diseases, such as chickenpox, mumps and smallpox. Indians had no natural resistance to these diseases, and died wholesale. Best estimates are that there were over four million Native Americans in North America at the time of Columbus' arrival. By 1800, this number had been reduced by over 90%.