Final answer:
The correct answer is A. They were killed. The indigenous population on Hispaniola dramatically decreased from three million to a few hundred due to the brutal actions of the Spaniards who invaded the Americas, engaging in violence, enslavement, and spreading diseases to which the natives had no immunity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The comparison between the Spaniards and "cruel, hungry animals" and the American Indians to "peaceful, innocent sheep" reflects the tragic history of the conquest of the Americas by the Spanish. The tumultuous encounter led to the catastrophic decline of the indigenous population due to warfare, enslavement, and diseases brought by the Spanish.
Regarding what happened to three million people on Hispaniola, the correct answer is: A. They were killed. Historical documents and accounts, like those of Bartolomé de las Casas, detail the harrowing methods of cruelty inflicted upon the native population, causing a precipitous population decline from approximately three million to only a few hundred over some forty years following the arrival of the Spaniards.
Describing the Spaniards' arrival on the islands, de las Casas wrote about the vast devastation wrought by war, enslavement, and disease upon the native populations, often describing the Spanish as operating with brutality and without regard for human life. This led to a demographic catastrophe, significantly reducing the Amerindian populations of the Caribbean islands.