1977/12/01 by Thomas T. Veblen · 12 citations
Social Sciences · #Cuban History and Society #CONQUEST #Population #Geography #Colonialism #Population growth #Ethnology #Demography #History #Ancient history #Archaeology #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.1977.tb01157.x
published in Annals of the Association of American Geographers 67(4), 484-499 (American Association of Geographers)
openalex publication_date 1977/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The Spanish conquest of the New World resulted in a rapid and drastic reduction of the native population. This demographic collapse was caused by the battles of conquest, the severe disruption of native economies, and the devastating impact of Old World diseases on an immunologically virgin population. In the case of Totonicapán in the western highlands of Guatemala, population decline was initiated by lethal epidemics introduced via Mexico which immediately preceded the arrival of the Spaniards. Spanish and native eyewitness testimony indicate that the western highlands of Guatemala were densely settled at the time of contact. Native and Spanish colonial documents clearly show that Old World epidemic diseases were the major killers. These eyewitness accounts and documentary materials permit a tentative estimate of the contact-time population of Totonicapán as being of the same magnitude as the mid-twentieth century population. Thus, approximately four centuries were required for the native demographic recovery of Totonicapán following the collapse brought about by the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century.