The fact is, the indigenous were conquered several times by different people from Europe over a period of several hundred years.
Columbus was a Genoan (not Italian) that convinced the Spanish royalty to back his desire to sail west. He was the first European with the wherewithal using existing technology to create a sustainable effort.
While the original inhabitants are noteworthy, they are trivial in comparison to the inward migration that has been continuous for hundreds of years. The current populations of indians exceeds the
numbers at the time of columbus
In 1597 the first hospital opened in what is now the United States in Florida, which at the time was part of the Spanish dominions. In it both Indians and Blacks were treated alike with the Spaniards. “When the nineteenth century opened, there were only three medical schools in the United States, and only two general hospitals. There were at that time at least eight hospitals in the city of Mexico alone. Two of them, the San Andrés and the Hospital Real of Indians, were large. The San Andrés had 400 beds, all endowed, while the Indian Hospital cared for 350 to 400 patients. In a severe epidemic it cared for over 8,000. Humboldt gave the number of beds available as 1,100 in 1803.” (38)
As a result of this, in New Spain, according to German the humanist who traveled most of the continent, Alexander Humbold: “not only has the number of natives increased for a century, but also New Spain is now more inhabited in 1803 than before the arrival of the Europeans...between 1752 and 1802, in New Spain, the ratio of birth to death stood as 170 to 100, despite a number of torrid-zone plagues; for the cold or temperate part of New Spain the ratio of births to deaths was of 190 and even 200 to 100...The increase of population was simply due, says Humboldt, to an increase in prosperity.” (39)
Spain vaccinates the natives of America and of Philippines against the smallpox
As American Historian Dr. Philip W. Powell, points out, as soon as it was available, “an enlightened Spanish government sponsored very early use of vaccination against smallpox, precisely because the disease was so dangerous to the Indian population.” (34)(*) Along with the gospel, the Spaniards brought the western medical knowledge to America. There was never any attempt of genocide of the Indians on behalf of the Crown, to the contrary. As historian Salvador de Madariaga indicates, “the Spanish Crown constantly reiterated its paramount interest in the natives, this has been a constant feature of the regime, even in its worst days and in the worst governed parts.” (35) (*)
In 1555, a council of the Church of New Spain ordered the construction of hospitals near the church in each village. The hospitals would have to admit not merely the sick but the poor as well even if in good health...No distinction was made between Indians and Spaniards. Some, however, had been founded to meet the special needs of the Indians (there was one in Mexico for Indians not living in the capital who happened to fall ill while there), others catered to certain needs of the Spaniards. Cortés founded one for venereal diseases. Most of these charitable institutions were also used for giving hospitality to travelers and they were comfortable and some even luxurious. (36)