During the first arrivals of Europeans in the Americas and parts of the Pacific, sometimes up to 90% of inhabitants were killed by diseases Europeans carried they didn't have immunity for. Why didn't this happen the other way around, and were the Europeans invaders killed by 'American' diseases? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

During the first arrivals of Europeans in the Americas and parts of the Pacific, sometimes up to 90% of inhabitants were killed by diseases Europeans carried they didn't have immunity for. Why didn't this happen the other way around, and were the Europeans invaders killed by 'American' diseases?

by PerfectDoomsday

silverappleyard

Not to discourage further discussion, but we have some excellent previous answers to these questions in the Impact of indigenous diseases on the Europeans section of the FAQ from u/anthropology_nerd and u/400-Rabbits.