Governor Alonzo de Leon in his memoirs (1690’s) specified one of the main reasons the natives of Northern Mexico were so easily subdued and put under the control of the church (he needed “workers” not only for his ranchos, but all his running buddies silver mines) was their decimation by european disease.
As a point of fact, he stated it worked too well. They had to import additional "workers" from elsewhere.
Remember the peon system was alive and well in New Mexico up until the 1840’s!
The only difference is the Spanish used the locals on the mainland for their "workers”. The ones on the carribean islands succumbed pretty quickly to those afore mentioned maladies.
Founder
Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools,
Being native burghers of this desert city,
Should in their own confines with forked heads
Have their round haunches gored."
WS
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