Massiv epidemi i Mexiko kan ha varit salmonella

The cocoliztli epidemic of 1576 or The great pestilence refers to millions of deaths in the territory of New Spain in present-day Mexico in 16th century attributed to one or more illnesses collectively called cocoliztli. The cause of the epidemic remains unknown though it might have been an indigenous viral hemorrhagic fever, perhaps exacerbated by the worst droughts to affect that region in 500 years and living conditions for indigenous peoples of Mexico in the wake of European invasion (c. 1519). Some historians have suggested it was typhus, measles, or smallpox, though the symptoms did not match. In 2018 scientists identified a rare strain of paratyphoid fever caused by Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica bacterium as the most likely cause.

Den spanska kolonisationen av Amerika (La Conquista) var en av de mer omfattande av de koloniala satsningarna i Amerika, detta mycket vare landets stora flotta, armadan. Den inleddes då den italiensk-spanske upptäckaren Christoffer Columbus år 1492 nådde Amerika. Den hamnstad i Spanien från vilken handelsskepp och armada seglade ut var Sevilla. Av det spanska imperiet återstår numera blott Kanarieöarna.