By the time the English are settling the Eastern sea board, disease has already swept the NA continent several times. The Pilgrams, for example, found a settlement that had been wiped out by disease, and were more or less able to take it over. Had disease not wiped out the Indians, settlement would have been extremely difficult.
Most estimates I have seen of Amerind populations for the territories now comprising the US at the start of the 19th Century have been 3 million. By the end of the century, there were only a quarter million left. The 1990 census numbers of Amerinds put them at 1.4 million, so they're recovering. This, also, does not include the large numbers of Amerians that claim Amerind decent (how many are actually true is another matter).
If there were 50 million Amerinds in the territory now comprising the USA, they've left massive scars on the land. It requires technology to make the land support that many people, and when the US hit 50 million, you could see it. I might buy 10 million, probably closer to 5 million.
Most estimates I have seen of Amerind populations for the territories now comprising the US at the start of the 19th Century have been 3 million. By the end of the century, there were only a quarter million left. The 1990 census numbers of Amerinds put them at 1.4 million, so they're recovering. This, also, does not include the large numbers of Amerians that claim Amerind decent (how many are actually true is another matter).
If there were 50 million Amerinds in the territory now comprising the USA, they've left massive scars on the land. It requires technology to make the land support that many people, and when the US hit 50 million, you could see it. I might buy 10 million, probably closer to 5 million.
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