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Hi there. I've been lurking around these boards for quite a while, reading (and enjoying) various timelines and disccussions, but I haven't registered until recently. Pardon my noob-ness!
Basically my question is, what would be the most plausible way of having Native Americans maintain control of the continent of North America (South America too, but my primary center of interest is North) following the early voyages by Europeans? Once Columbus has set foot on Hispaniola and Europeans have made the first rudimentary steps toward establishing permanent settlements, what kind of catastrophic event, or series of events, could prevent them from gaining a significant foothold in the Americas?
My provisional theory (roughly) involves a series of revolts in the early 1500s by enslaved West Indian natives that dissuades the Spaniards from continuing large-scale colonization, in addition to few Roanoke-style disappearances of English and French colonies along the Atlantic coast. I'm not sure that would quite cut it, though, so I'm wondering what others might think...