The collapse of Easter Island was mostly likely due to Europeans introducing disease to the island in their first visits, kidnapping the islanders for slavery a

The collapse of Easter Island was mostly likely due to Europeans introducing disease to the island in their first visits, kidnapping the islanders for slavery aboard ships, then nearby Chile doing the same sort of thing, followed by more disease when some islanders were returned later. Early reports of visits to the island noted how friendly the islanders were. Then just a couple of years later they were aggressive towards visiting ships. I wonder why? On the first visit some islanders were killed "by accident" (shot one! oops!). The "stupid natives cut down their trees" story is mostly propaganda to cover the real tragedy caused by external forces destroying the island life.