SUMMARY Smallpox was introduced by Europeans and drastically reduced indigenous populations due to lack of immunity, significantly altering the demographic and cultural landscapes. The disease spread rapidly across the Americas, reaching even isolated communities through networks of native trade and European exploration, exacerbating its deadly impact. Despite initial lack of containment measures, later efforts included quarantine and the introduction of variolation and vaccination, though control was limited until modern campaigns against the disease.   Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 on a still unidentified island. It may have been San Salvador, named in 1925, an island the Lucayan people once called Guanahani. Columbus christened it San Salvador at the time, but its exact location today remains a matter of debate. Its shadowy identity makes it a fit introduction for looking back at the peoples inhabiting what Europeans referred to as “the New World.” Many of their cultures disappeared into the mists from the intentional destruction of their conquerors and the ravages of disease, most notably smallpox.   Smallpox Strikes the Caribbean Columbus’s first encounter with …