Why is the Indigenous proportion of the population in former Spanish colonies like Mexico, Central America and the Andes so much higher than in the United States, Caribbean and Brazil?

by lesamisdesamis

The Indigenous population in Mexico constitutes 15% of the total, while in Guatemala it is as high as 40% and in Peru it is 26%. The Indigenous population of the United States is around 1%, virtually nothing Cuba and in Brazil it is approximately 0.4%.

Is this disparity between former Spanish colonies on the mainland and their non-Spanish neighbors and the Caribbean due to variations in the deadliness of diseases introduced by Europeans, or due to the differences in the nature of conquest and subsequent colonization?

the_gubna

See this section of the FAQ.

If you have specific follow up questions I can try to answer them.