How did disease outbreaks affect Tokelau’s population in the 1860s?

In the 1860s, Tokelau’s population was severely impacted by a combination of external threats. In 1863, Peruvian slave raiders abducted a large number of islanders, and roughly contemporary outbreaks of disease further devastated the community, reducing the total population to approximately 200 people. Following these events, the demographic landscape shifted as beachcombers of various nationalities settled on the islands and intermarried with the remaining Tokelauan population.1