How did diseases play into the spanish conquest of the americas?
a. conquistadores often fell ill to the diseases of the americas.
b. european diseases devastated the americas and in essence was a destructive weapon against the native peoples.
c. most native peoples built an immunity to european diseases rather quickly.
d. diseases played only a minor role in the conquest of the americas.

The correct answer is B. European diseases devastated the Americans and in essence was a destructive weapon against the native peoples.

Explanation

During the conquest of America, an event called demographic catastrophe is manifested, which refers to the decline of the Native American population by the arrival of the Europeans, who brought diseases such as the flu, smallpox, cholera, and thypus, epidemics and plagues of Europe that caused the Native Americans to die because they had never suffered from such diseases before and did not have the necessary resistance to these diseases. One of the plagues that helped the spread of diseases were the rats that bit the Indians and transmitted the diseases and infections that were fatal to them. So, the correct answer is B. European diseases devastated the Americans and in essence was a destructive weapon against the native peoples.