... from soil erosion and from being washed away in heavy rains. The staple foods produced using this system were manioc, sweet potatoes, arrowroot and yuca. The Indians only produced enough necessary for their survival. Because of the diversity of the plants and animals there was ecological equilibrium. However, "The early settlers took over the subsistence economy of the Indians" (1). The Cunuco system was undermined by the Spanish, who felt it was an impediment, a waste of time and labour (2). To expand these crops, they introduced crops Mediterranean crops and livestock. Local societies were drawn away from the Cunuco system, into the Encomienda system. This meant that they could no longer harvest or eat the foods that sustained them. This famine led to malnutrition, immense weakening of their immune systems, hence weakening their immunity to European and probably African, diseases, (which they had not before been exposed to), such as Smallpox, ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now