In former times these territorial and religious disputes resulted in a decrease in population.

disputes 是名词 dispute 的复数形式，dispute 由前缀 dis-（表示"相反、分离"）和词根 pute（来自拉丁语 putare，意为"思考、计算"）组成，字面意思是"相反的计算/思考"，引申为"争论、争端"的意思。