Deadly Dieasie

The first major European exploration of Georgia was in 1540 when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, with hundreds of soldiers, crossed through what is now Georgia in search of gold. They met with many groups of Indians, most of them speakers of one of the varieties of the Muskogee language. Later these groups would become the Creek confederation. There were also Iroquoian speakers, later called the Cherokee. As with other Indian groups, many became sick and often died from diseases that the Europeans brought, especially viruses like smallpox and measles.