THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE The global transfer of foods, plants, animals, and disease following the voyages of Columbus

Did Columbus Discover America?

And when they landed they found natives already living there… The Vikings landed in North America c. 1000 A.D. almost 500 years before Columbus. And when they landed they found natives already living there…

But he did do something… Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain in 1492 and crossed the Atlantic until he hit land He is, so far as we know, the legitimate discoverer of the Bahamas So, he was not the first to land on the New World… But he did do something…

He’s Important Because. . . His ships were big enough to take things back to Spain And take things he did

All of them brought things home Gold Spices Silver, yes BUT ALSO: Animals Plants Food

The Columbian Exchange This global trading between the New World and the Old World is called the Columbian Exchange NEW WORLD

Who benefited the most? OLD WORLD? OR NEW WORLD?

The Old World Got. . . Tobacco Corn Squash Potatoes Sweet Potatoes Cacao Beans Tomatoes Beans Peanuts CHOCOLATE!!!

It Also Got. . . Quinine (from a tree native to S. America that was used by the Ancient Peruvians) A medicine that proved effective in the treatment of malaria, which had caused Europeans problems for ages

But Then, It Also Got. . . Syphilis A sexually-transmitted disease that had no cure Caused blindness and insanity prior to death

The New World Got. . . Onions Olives Grapes Bananas Sugar Cane Peaches and Pears Coffee Beans Honeybees

It Also Got. . . Wheat Rice Barley Oats Cattle Sheep Pigs Horses

But Then, It Also Got. . . Mumps Measles Small Pox This was particularly deadly; in some cases, it killed 90% of the native populations

Other Consequences of Columbus Colonization Yes, the Vikings had been to the Americas first; but they didn’t stay Increasingly, Europeans did stay For wealth For freedom To spread Christianity

Early Conquerors and Colonizers Spain Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztecs in 1521 Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas in 1533 Spain controlled almost all of North and South America with the exception of Brazil

Other Early Colonizer Portugal Controlled Brazil in South America, and not much else Agreed to a treaty with Spain not to intrude on each other’s lands

Latecomers England France The Netherlands

Other Consequences Rise of Capitalism Economic system based on private ownership and investment for profit

Growth of Mercantilism Idea that a nation needed to be as wealthy as possible, either through Discovery of gold or silver Favorable Balance of Trade Ultimate goal: Self-Sufficiency – to sell to other nations, but to need nothing that they are trying to sell to you

Rise of African Slavery Though Europeans try, it becomes very difficult to enslave Native Americans They are not resistant to disease Up to 90% of their population dies Therefore, they can’t be relied upon as a strong labor force Africans, however, have had exposure to European’s diseases and were not as susceptible

Atlantic Slave Trade Europeans begin to trade goods from the Americas to certain tribes in Africa In exchange, those tribes help Europeans capture other Africans Those Africans are then sent to the Americas, to grow more goods to trade with Africans

Columbian Exchange…Justified?