Question

Which of the following statements best investigates why the Spanish and Portuguese were able to influence Indigenous communities in Latin America?(1 point)
Responses

Indigenous communities did not have unique cultural identities and were easily influenced by the arrival of Europeans.
Indigenous communities did not have unique cultural identities and were easily influenced by the arrival of Europeans.

The destruction caused by widespread disease allowed Europeans to more effectively change weakened Indigenous culture.
The destruction caused by widespread disease allowed Europeans to more effectively change weakened Indigenous culture.

The arrival of new crops and people from Afro-Eurasia slowly replaced Indigenous culture.
The arrival of new crops and people from Afro-Eurasia slowly replaced Indigenous culture.

Spanish and Portuguese missionaries were able to convert Indigenous peoples to Christianity and force them to abandon their cultures.
Spanish and Portuguese missionaries were able to convert Indigenous peoples to Christianity and force them to abandon their cultures.

Answer 1

The destruction caused by widespread disease allowed Europeans to more effectively change weakened Indigenous culture.

Explanation: Old World diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza) devastated Indigenous populations, disrupting societies and making conquest, colonization, and cultural change far easier for Spanish and Portuguese colonizers.