Some people survived the disease, but were brutally damage. Small pox was the cause of the Aztec Empire depopulation. When the Europeans went to the Aztec Empire, they infected the Aztecs. “The Europeans single-mindlessness and weaponry, when combined with the toll of epidemics from old world disease, made their victory inevitable” (Andrea 92). “Many believe that within a century the indigenous population of Mexico had declined by as much as 90 percent, from about 17 million to 1.3 million.” (Bentley 396). Not only did it wipe out the citizens, it also wiped out most of the Aztec warriors. Without the Aztec warriors they weren’t able to function properly. This is one of the non-military factors that helped the Spaniards win the siege of Tenochtitlan. The encomienda was also affected by the small pox. “To replace laborers lost to disease, encomenderos resorted to kidnapping and enslaving Tainos and other peoples” (Bentley