Christopher Columbus
Since the late 20th century, historians have criticized Columbus for initiating colonization and for abuse of natives. Among reasons for this criticism is the poor treatment of the native Taíno people of Hispaniola, whose population declined rapidly after contact with the Spanish. Columbus required the natives to pay tribute in gold and cotton. Modern estimates for the pre-Columbian population of Hispaniola are around 250,000–300,000. According to the historian Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, by 1548, 56 years after Columbus landed, and 42 years after he died, fewer than 500 Taíno were living on the island. The indigenous population declined rapidly, due primarily to the first pandemic of European endemic diseases, which struck Hispaniola after 1519. The natives had no acquired immunity to these new diseases and suffered high fatalities. There is also documentation that they were overworked.
Los Pingüinos Natural Monument
Prior to the 16th century, Magdalena and Marta Islands were inhabited by three pre-Hispanic cultures: the Selknam, the Yaghan, and the Kawesqar. These people had very little effect on the islands as they had a small population and also spent much time fishing at sea, rather than being on the island. The Selknam were forced to leave after Spanish colonialists brought sheep to the region, which eliminated the habitat of the guanaco, an animal similar to an alpaca, that they hunted. The Yaghan and Kawesqar also eventually abandoned the area due to colonial pressure. Though people no longer live on the islands, the human impacts are likely much greater than where there were inhabitants because thousands of people visit the islands each year.