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The Europeans didn't topple any empire in the Americas. They collapsed by themselves due to the sickness brought over by the Europeans before they made contact.

The Europeans didn't topple any empire in the Americas. They collapsed by themselves due to the sickness brought over by the Europeans before they made contact. It would have been logistically impossible to topple an empire overseas.

rowanG077 4y ago
This sounds the same to me as saying: "The gunshot didn't kill him. The infection did."
- tbrownaw 4y ago
  I think it's either an intent thing or a causality thing. Imagine a hit man showing up to work one day, only to find his targets already dead along with their entire town... and only much later finds out that it's because he'd been an asymptomatic carrier for weird space germs when he was casing the joint the previous month.
  - krapp 4y ago
    Except in reality his targets weren't entirely dead, there were still millions left so he still went about killing the rest[0..2]. The intent in this case existed alongside unintended causes, but it was still there. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_... [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Inca_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Inca_E... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars
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stevenjgarner 4y ago
"Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés overthrew the Aztec Empire by force and captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica's last great native civilization ... The Spaniards then murdered thousands of Aztec nobles during a ritual dance ceremony, and Montezuma died under uncertain circumstances while in custody... European diseases like smallpox, mumps and measles were also powerful weapons against the local population, who lacked immunity to them...By 1520, smallpox had reduced the population of Tenochtitlan by 40% in just one year." [1] Maybe an oversimplification to assert "the Europeans didn't topple any empire in the Americas"? [1] https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/aztecs https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/aztecs

rowanG077 4y ago

This sounds the same to me as saying: "The gunshot didn't kill him. The infection did."

tbrownaw 4y ago
I think it's either an intent thing or a causality thing. Imagine a hit man showing up to work one day, only to find his targets already dead along with their entire town... and only much later finds out that it's because he'd been an asymptomatic carrier for weird space germs when he was casing the joint the previous month.
- krapp 4y ago
  Except in reality his targets weren't entirely dead, there were still millions left so he still went about killing the rest[0..2]. The intent in this case existed alongside unintended causes, but it was still there. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_... [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Inca_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Inca_E... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars

deleted 4y ago

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stevenjgarner 4y ago

"Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés overthrew the Aztec Empire by force and captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica's last great native civilization ... The Spaniards then murdered thousands of Aztec nobles during a ritual dance ceremony, and Montezuma died under uncertain circumstances while in custody... European diseases like smallpox, mumps and measles were also powerful weapons against the local population, who lacked immunity to them...By 1520, smallpox had reduced the population of Tenochtitlan by 40% in just one year." [1] Maybe an oversimplification to assert "the Europeans didn't topple any empire in the Americas"? [1] https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/aztecs https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/aztecs