Columbian Exchange Lecture Notes PDF

Celine Salloum Ms. Nunez AP World History Period 4 4 December 2024 The Columbian Exchange 1450-1750 3 historical developments 1. new connections between E. and W. hemispheres -> exchanging of plants, a...

Celine Salloum Ms. Nunez AP World History Period 4 4 December 2024 The Columbian Exchange 1450-1750 3 historical developments 1. new connections between E. and W. hemispheres -> exchanging of plants, animals, diseases - known as Columbian Exchange 2. European colonization of Americas -> transfer of disease - some reduced indigenous populations of Americas 3. populations in Afro-Eurasia benefitted nutritionally from the increased diversity of American food crops what was the columbian exchange? - main idea: trade and exchange network across the Atlantic - New World to Old World, Old World to New World - named after Christopher Colombus (Italian explorer) - spread of animals, cultures, diseases, ideas, plants, people (slave trade) between the Americas/W. Africa/Europe in 15th and 16th cen. - describes early cen. of transatlantic trade and everything that moved across those new maritime trade routes - controlled by Europeans and European colonists, wealth enriched Europeans in Old World and colonies - built on mass exploitation on indigenous Americans and enslaved Africans exchange of good across the atlantic followed Europe’s conquest of the Americas and the construction of European controlled societies and economies columbian exchange also included - the rapid expansion of european ancestry populated Americas - development of commercial economy affected Americas - increased production of agricultural products on cash crop plantations - forced relocation of African slaves causes of the exchange - main idea: following conquest of the Americas and the construction of European-controlled society and economies secondary causes - once Europeans in Americas, started to increase amount of exchange in goods and people across the Atlantic (slave trade) - European ancestry population in the Americas - increased production of agricultural products (sugar, tobacco, etc.) - relocation of enslaved Africans to Americas effects - main idea: diffusion of plants, animals, people, and diseases across new Atlantic trade routes - crop diffusion examples: citrus (oranges, limes, lemons), bananas, champa rice - changed natural environments of cultures and societies in the old and new worlds - plants and animals transferred across the Atlantic - began with Christopher Colombus, discovered and took stuff to the Old World (and repeat) - transfer of crops (table below)  FOOD ENJOYMENT PRODUCTION DECORATIVE MEDICAL citrus coffee cotton tomatoes cinchona tree wheat chocolate hemp squash tobacco environmental impacts of the spread of plants and animals in the Americas - introduction of new plants and animals in Americas resulted in rapid ecological changes - deforestation increased as trees were cut down to make room for plantations - solid depletion increased over farming stripped land of their nutrients - water pollution increased as waste from cash crop agriculture entered water supplies - invasive species like wild hogs took over habitats from plants and animals reminder: pre-columbian (Maya, Inca, Aztecs, etc.) -> colonial -> modern voluntary european migrations - indentured servants - 6 million europeans migrated to the Americans -> 1492-1820 -> 40% were Portuguese or Spanish, 5% were French, 50% were British importation of enslaved Africans into Americas began soon after Europeans arrived - most slaves worked on agricultural plantations -> growing cash crops (sugar, cotton, tobacco) - other workers were domestic servants (housemaids, cooks, cleaners, etc.), worked in mines, or on building projects 400 years - Africans were trafficked into the Americas - about 10 million enslaved people were sold out of Africa - about 1.5 million died crossing the Atlantic ocean - millions died in dangerous jobs (ex: mining) or overwork transferred diseases - impacts of disease, especially on native populations - millions of indigenous people died from disease - some diseases were from Americas, but indigenous were genetically protected from those - very devastating on indigenous people since they didn't have immunity (smallpox, measles, typhus, influenza, diphtheria) Columbian exchange primarily benefited europeans - benefits largely went to europeans and their societies - those societies brought their ancestry to the New World and indigenous America - indigenous people lost their land, resources, no way of creating wealth - Africans lost their land in Africa and had nothing when they came to Americas, labor system where they had no land or resources, also no wealth to generate for themselves