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

2. Did Columbus Discover America?

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

4. 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…

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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

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

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

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

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Latecomers
England
France
The Netherlands

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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Columbian Exchange…Justified?