[[1]] were not immune to smallpox .

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Detailed Solution

Native Americans were not immune to smallpox.
In the pre-modern era, the spread of disease across continents aided in colonising the Americas. The reason was that the diseases the European settlers brought were not immune to the native Americans. Due to their extensive exposure to diseases like smallpox over many years, the Europeans were somewhat immune to their effects. Still, the native Americans lacked this immunity because they were cut off from diseases from the old world. Sometimes, settlers engaged in premeditated biological warfare against the Indians by presenting them with "gifts of kindness" packed with the smallpox virus. The disease was a considerably more efficient way to exterminate entire tribes and villages without using weapons.

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