The Columbian Exchange

Goal of European exploration was to gain wealth by: Exploiting sources of precious metals and raw materials in their colonies Increase of exported goods from homeland to oversea colonies This created an extensive trade network

Columbian Exchange The exchange of plants and animals between Europe and the Americas became known as the Columbian Exchange Named for Christopher Columbus This complex process would have far-reaching results on people around the world – both good and bad.

Much of what the colonists grew and raised was exported from Europe In the Americas: Plantations were created to grow sugar, cotton, vanilla, and other crops Ranches were introduced to raise livestock from Europe Much of what the colonists grew and raised was exported from Europe

Products native to the Americas were brought back to Europe: Europeans brought: Wheat Citrus fruit Horses Cattle Products native to the Americas were brought back to Europe: Potatoes Cocoa Corn Tomatoes Tobacco

Horses greatly altered the lifestyle of Native Americans The exchange of plants and animals transformed economic activity on both sides of the Atlantic Horses greatly altered the lifestyle of Native Americans Potatoes became a basic food sample in areas of Europe Rapid increase in population due to the fact that potato plants produced more food per acre than any other food grown there before New food crops from the Americas supported population growth and new markets in other parts of the world Maize and sweet potatoes to China encouraged population explosion during the Qing Dynasty

However, some aspects of the Columbian Exchange were deadly People in the Americas had no immunity to European diseases Smallpox and measles wiped out civilizations Population of Mexico dropped from 25 million to 1 million in 130 years after Europeans arrived “Encomienda” Granted by Spain to settlers Right to use Native Americans as laborers on plantations Native Americans often worked under harsh conditions

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Slavery had been practiced in Africa since ancient times Demand for enslaved Africans increased with European settlement of the Americas in 1490s and the planting of sugarcane

In the 1500s, plantations were created in Brazil and the Caribbean Islands to grow sugarcane Many laborers were required to successfully grow sugarcane Native Americans could not provide the needed labor due to their loss of population from European diseases Enslaved Africans were shipped to the Americas to help with the labor shortage

1518 – Spanish ship carried the first enslaved Africans directly from West Africa to the Americas Trade of enslaved people would grow drastically Became part of a triangular trade connecting Europe, Africa and the Americas

Triangular Trade European ships took manufactured goods (guns, cloth) to Africa to be traded for enslaved people Enslaved Africans then sent to the Americas where they were sold European ships then brought tobacco, sugar and cotton back to Europe

Middle Passage – the journey from Africa to the Americas As many as 10 million Africans were brought to the Americas between 1500 and 1800 Middle Passage – the journey from Africa to the Americas Many died on this journey If they survived the journey, many died from European diseases

Death rates higher for newly arrived slaves than those of people born in the Americas Slaveholders rarely encouraged slaves to have children They thought it was cheaper to buy a new slave than rearing a child from birth to working age

Sources of Enslaved Africans Before Europeans arrived, most enslaved people in Africa were prisoners of war Europeans bought slaves from merchants in return for gold, guns and other European goods Slaves were first obtained from the coast, but as demand grew, traders had to move further inland African rulers who traded enslaved people viewed the slave trade as a source of income Some even sent raiders into defenseless villages to find victims

Impact of Slave Trade in Africa Depopulation Communities lost their youngest and strongest men and women Increase of war and raids on neighboring people Loss of creative societies Benin – once brilliant society who got pulled into slave trade Population declined and war increased People of Benin lost faith in their gods, their art deteriorated, and human sacrifice became more common

Impact of Slave Trade in Americas Blending of culture In some places, African culture blended with the customs of the locals to create a vibrant new culture In the US, culture did not blend the same way, but African culture still had an influence

End of Slavery Quakers (Society of Friends) began to condemn slavery in 1770s French abolished slavery in 1790s after French Revolution Britain abolished slavery in their empire in 1833 Slavery continued in the US until the Civil War