Gamsby Jewel GamsbyMr. IngramAP US History, per 225 August 2014Cancelled ReservationsChristopher Columbus and the Europeans that followed him committed genocide against the Native American population. The Europeans used biological warfare, advanced technology, and overtly harsh labor mechanisms to exterminate the Natives. Harsh labor systems were also of great importance in the genocide against the Natives. The Natives were often worked to death through the encomienda systems that the Europeans instilled. The encomienda systems could be compared to the Nazi concentration camps, serfdom in Medieval Europe, or even African slavery that would later become an atrocity of United States history. The Natives were given no choice as to whether they could work through the encomienda systems. Instead, they were faced with labor or death, even though it was likely that they would die under either circumstance. This unjust system of labor lasted until the 1550s, when it was outlawed, however the exploitation of Indians continued long after. The biological warfare that the Europeans used against the Natives is evident. It has been proven that smallpox originated in Eurasia due to cross species viral infection, when diseases from mammals in Europe adapted and spread to Europeans. You will do well to try inoculate the Indians with smallpox, said Sir Jeffery Amherst, an officer in the British Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. Thus, proving that the Europeans used their immunity against deadly diseases as a weapon. There is also an account that states that Europeans gave Indians blankets from a quarantined hospital, again proving that disease was used as a weapon against the Natives, and at that, was the most powerful of their war mechanisms. The Native Americans also fell victim to advanced weaponry and technology. The Eurasian East West Axis allowed for easy travel, spread of ideas and expansion across the continent. In contrast, the Natives had a North South Axis, which gives a clear disadvantage due to the fact that they had to travel through several climatic extremes to spread crops, animals, and ideas. Thus making it completely inequitable that the European explorers arrived in the New World and exterminated less advanced civilizations because of a geographic advantage. As Bartolome Las Casas said, They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. It is clear that the Natives were not of a violent stature, as Europeans have often claimed. It could be argued that Europeans only attacked the Natives in retaliation. However, Europeans have constantly countered back using extreme measures. At one instance in San Diego, only two Europeans were killed. The retaliation, however, brutally killed over three hundred Native men, women, and children. The harsh labor systems, biological warfare, and the advanced weaponry and technology that the Europeans used against Native Americans are clear indicators of genocide. Columbus, along with his following European settlers treated the Natives as an inferior race, with complete disregard for cultural and moralistic values. It is clear that the European settlers goal was to wipe out the Native population. As Las Casas said, Our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy.