depopulation

(noun)

The act of reducing a population; the destruction or expulsion of inhabitants.

Related Terms

Examples of depopulation in the following topics:

  • Disease in the New World

    • European exploration and invasion of the Americas brought with them many foreign diseases, causing widespread depopulation among indigenous cultures.

  • Changes in American Indian Life

    • Smallpox epidemics in 1780–1782, and 1837–1838, brought devastation and drastic depopulation among the Plains Indians.