Conquistadors' Smallpox War: How Disease, Not Steel, Conquered the New World

The conquistadors didn't conquer the Americas. Smallpox did.The story you learned is tidy: a few hundred Spaniards, armored and ruthless, toppled two of the largest empires on Earth. Cortés outwitted the Aztecs. Pizarro out-marched the Inca. Steel, horses, and nerve against millions. It makes for a thrilling legend — and it gets the weight of history badly wrong.The Spanish brought something far d...