Without women in their parties, the Spanish conquerors took Nahua and Chorotega wives and partners, beginning the multiethnic mix of indigenous and European stock now known as "''mestizo''", which constitutes the great majority of the population in western Nicaragua. Many indigenous people died as a result of new infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. Furthermore, a large number of other indigenous peoples were captured and transported to Panama and Peru between 1526 and 1540, where they were forced to perform slave labor.