Colonization ruptured many ecosystems, bringing in new organisms while eliminating others. The Europeans brought many diseases with them that decimated Native American populations. Colonists and Native Americans alike looked to new plants as possible medicinal resources.
They invaded the land of the native americans, treating them in an unfriendly and violent manner when they arrived. The effects of colonization on the native populations in the New World were mistreatment of the natives, harsh labor for them, and new ideas about religion for the spaniards.