Why were Native Americans so affected by European illnesses upon early introduction, but not the Europeans?

by cmckone

To be more clear: Why is it that European settlers were able to bring their illnesses and spread them to many tribes, while the Natives didn't seem to have their own illnesses that affected the settlers? I'm assuming the natives did have some forms of illness before hand so why were they less prepared?

Searocksandtrees

Hi! There's always room for discussion on this, but just fyi, there are a few in-depth posts on this subject here that can get you started

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