[jonathankoren]

> And since no one even understood the concept of disease or how it was spread, it was really hard to imagine the Spanish purposefully showing up in Mexico with the explicit purpose of killing people in S. America via smallpox.

True, but smallpox blankets did happen. Not often. Perhaps only once, but it was documented at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Pitt