The Columbian Exchange and Global Trade

Describe how each New World plant revolutionized life in Eurasia. Potatoes Manioc (cassava) Sweet Potatoes Corn

Potatoes- They were grown in soils that were useless for Old World crops and they helped increase population in Eurasia, for example in Ireland. Many people in Eurasia lived/survived off of potatoes because they were cheap to grow. Manioc (cassava)- A New World plant with roots that provide more calories than any other plant on Earth. Manioc is very important in Africa. Sweet Potatoes- It was known as the "poor person's staple" because it was so common so it helped those who could not afford more luxurious meals. Corn- Corn has been the central source of food for animals in Europe for centuries meaning its value is important.

Investing in global exploration was important for...? Give examples.

for the development of international trade. A group of investors might fund a transatlantic journey in hopes that a new market might be found with which they could exchange goods and services. The European colonies in the Americas, for example, had become important capital markets in which merchants invested their money. Profits from these investments enabled merchants and traders to reinvest even more money in other enterprises. As a result, businesses across Europe grew and flourished.

What was the most important thing that the Columbian Exchange brought to the Europeans/rest of the world?

corn and potatoes. Both were inexpensive to grow and nutritious. Potatoes, especially, supplied many essential vitamins and minerals. Over time, both crops became an important and steady part of diets throughout the world. These foods helped people live longer. Thus they played a significant role in boosting the world's population. The planting of the first white potato in Ireland and the first sweet potato in China probably changed more lives than the deeds of 100 kings.

What was the common purpose of Europe?

American colonization

favorable balance of trade

An economic situation in which a country sells more goods abroad than it buys from abroad.

How did joint-stock companies work?

Colonies were split among investors so the profits and losses were split, and no one would go broke. The joint-stock company worked much like the modern-day corporation, with investors buying shares of stock in a company. It involved a number of people combining their wealth for a common purpose.

One aspect of the European economic revolution was the growth of capitalism. Explain?

Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership and the investment of resources, such as money, for profit. No longer were governments the sole owners of great wealth. Due to overseas colonization and trade, numerous merchants had obtained great wealth.

Cause/Effect of Colombian Exhange

Causes: European exploration of the New World,Colonization of the Americas by Europeans Effects: 1. Diseases came from Europe, Asia, and Africa to the Americas. These diseases killed millions of Native Americans because they had never been exposed to the disease thus not able to fight them off like the Europeans. 2. European population began to grow. 3. Europeans started to migrate. As the European population grew, they immigrated to other countries in search of more jobs and better lives. 4. The Atlantic Slave Trade began because as Europeans would prospering in new lands, they needed people to work their farms and other stuff as a cheap and efficient labor source

What did the Europeans bring to the Americas through the Columbian Exchange?

Europeans introduced various livestock animals into the Americas. These included horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Foods from Africa (including some that originated in Asia) migrated west in European ships. They included bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams. Grains introduced to the Americas included wheat, rice, barley, and oats. Native Americans and Europeans learned from each other how to cultivate crops that were unfamiliar to them. In this way, the Columbian Exchange was an exchange of knowledge, as much as an exchange of goods.

According to the theory of mercantilism, a nation could increase its wealth and power in two ways. What were those two ways?

First, it could obtain as much gold and silver as possible. Second, it could establish a favorable balance of trade, in which it sold more goods than it bought. A nation's ultimate goal under mercantilism was to become self-sufficient, not dependent on other countries for goods.

While these new crops had positive effects, their introduction also created issues in many ecosystems around the world. Give examples.

In the Americas, for example, weeds often accompanied the new plants coming from Europe. These weeds contaminated soil in such a way that other crops had difficulty growing. Also, agricultural methods created problems for the environment in the Americas. Europeans cut down acres of forests to create farmable land. As a result, plants living in forest environments died.

Inflation occurs when??

Inflation occurs when people have more money to spend and thus demand more goods and services. Because the supply of goods is less than the demand for them, the goods become both scarce and more valuable. Prices then rise. At this time in Europe, the costs of many goods rose. Spain, for example, endured a crushing bout of inflation during the 1600s, as boatloads of gold and silver from the Americas greatly increased the nation's money supply.

Joint-stock companies and American colonization

It took large amounts of money to establish overseas colonies. Moreover, while profits may have been great, so were risks. Many ships, for instance, never completed the long and dangerous ocean voyage. Because joint-stock companies involved numerous investors, the individual members paid only a fraction of the total colonization cost. If the colony failed, investors lost only their small share. If the colony thrived, the investors shared in the profits. It was a joint-stock company that was responsible for establishing Jamestown, England's first North American colony.

Mercantilism went hand in hand with what? why?

Mercantilism went hand in hand with colonization, for colonies played a vital role in this new economic practice. Aside from providing silver and gold, colonies provided raw materials that could not be found in the home country, such as wood or furs. In addition to playing the role of supplier, the colonies also provided a market. The home country could sell its goods to its colonies.

What did the economic revolution increase, contribute to, and expand?

More than anything else, the economic revolution increased the wealth of European nations. In addition, mercantilism contributed to the creation of a national identity. Also, the new economic practices helped expand the power of European monarchs, who became powerful rulers.

The establishment of colonial empires in the Americas influenced the nations of Europe in still other ways.....

New wealth from the Americas was coupled with a dramatic growth in overseas trade. The two factors together prompted a wave of new business and trade practices in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. These practices, many of which served as the root of today's financial dealings, dramatically changed the economic atmosphere of Europe. Just as Portuguese merchants conducted trade with Japan, so too were goods exchanged between colonies in the Americas and European nations.

Discuss two secondary effects of European diseases on the Native American population

One effect was that the deaths, caused by disease, of Native American rulers began wars which made it easier for disease to spread due to the close contact and many other leaders began dying of diseases as well. Another effect was starvation because there not enough workers to grow crops to feed the living and those who were living didn't have anything to eat and would become more vulnerable to the diseases.

Describe how each Eurasion animal listed below revolutionized life in the Americas Pigs, oxen, horses

Pigs- Pigs completely remade the food supply because pigs breed really quickly, they eat anything and turn into bacon. Since pigs had such a big supply of meat, Europeans in the Americas rarely experienced famine. oxen- Helped change the nature of work in the Americas because oxen, when combined with their plows, made it possible to bring more land under cultivation and also made transportation easier. horses- European animals, like horses, remade culture in the Americas and the introduction to horse also helped Native Americans abandon agriculture because riding around hunting for buffalo gave them more profits.

What did the Columbian Exchange bring to the Europeans?

Ships from the Americas brought back a wide array of items that Europeans, Asians, and Africans had never before seen. They included such plants as tomatoes, squash, pineapples, tobacco, and cacao beans (for chocolate). And they included animals such as the turkey, which became a source of food in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Negative things that Europeans brought with them to the Americas

Some aspects of the Columbian Exchange had tragic consequences for many Native Americans. Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian Exchange as goods and food. The pathogens Europeans brought with them, which caused diseases like smallpox and measles, led to the deaths of millions of Native Americans. Other diseases Europeans brought with them included influenza, typhus, malaria, and diphtheria.

What were the results of the Columbian Exchange?

The Colombian exchange destroyed the population of the Americas, it led to the spread of African slavery, it allowed the global population to increase, some Native Americans lives' became better and more secure for a little while, fewer people have starved, and the planting of crops where they don't belong has hurting the environment.

The economic changes that swept through much of Europe during the age of American colonization also led to changes in European society. How?

The economic changes that swept through much of Europe during the age of American colonization also led to changes in European society. The economic revolution spurred the growth of towns and the rise of a class of merchants who controlled great wealth.

Four categories of the Columbian exchange

The four categories of the Columbian Exchange include: 1. Diseases, 2. Animals, 3. Plants, and 4. People.

The transmission of disease largely went one way, from the Old World to the New, but the Americans did have one "gift" for Europe. What was it?

The gift was venereal syphilis, it was a disease that was spread by sailors who returned from the Americas back to Europe.

The increase in economic activity in Europe led to what?

The increase in economic activity in Europe led to an overall increase in many nations' money supply. This in turn brought on inflation, or the steady rise in the price of goods.

What did they theory of mercantilism hold?

The theory of mercantilism held that a country's power depended mainly on its wealth. Wealth, after all, allowed nations to build strong navies and purchase vital goods. As a result, the goal of every nation became the attainment of as much wealth as possible.

The New World did have one gift for the Old World that was pretty destructive. What was it?

Tobacco

The changes in European society, however, only went so far. Why?

While towns and cities grew in size, much of Europe's population continued to live in rural areas. And although merchants and traders enjoyed social mobility, the majority of Europeans remained poor.

joint-stock company

a business in which investors pool their wealth for a common purpose, then share the profits.

Mercantilism

an economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought.

Capitalism

an economic system based on private ownership and on the investment of money in business ventures in order to make a profit.

Columbian Exchange

the global transfer of plants, animals, and diseases that occurred during the European colonization of the Americas.