What was one major factor that contributed to the decline of the Native American population due to European settlement?

One major factor that significantly contributed to the decline of the Native American population due to European settlement was exposure to new diseases. When Europeans arrived in the Americas, they brought with them a variety of infectious diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to which Native Americans had no prior exposure or immunity. As a result, these diseases spread rapidly among indigenous populations, leading to devastating mortality rates.

This health crisis drastically reduced the Native American population and disrupted their social structures, making it more difficult for them to resist European encroachment and leading to further decline. The impact of these diseases was so profound that some estimates suggest that entire communities were wiped out in a matter of years.

While loss of land, forced migration, and trade disruption also played significant roles in the decline of Native American societies, the immediate and lethal nature of disease outbreaks had a more direct and catastrophic effect on their populations during the initial encounters with European settlers.