[dotancohen]

  > They would have inherited a very different (likely better) life if the colonists had not arrived.

This presents a very rosy-glasses version of history, likely based on the noble savage myth. Do you have any idea how the standard of living has changed in the past 600 years? Malnutrition, disease, lifespan, hours of leisure, infant mortality, are all far better today than they were in Precolumbian south america, even among the poor.

[RobertoG]

Better today that they were in Precolonial South-America and better that they were in Europe at the time.