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The Columbian Exchange. Ch 20.4 . New meets Old. With the discovery of the Americas and Spanish colonization, came a trade of items between the two civilizations. Many new items were introduced to the Americas as well as Europeans, Asians, and Africans.
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The Columbian Exchange Ch 20.4
New meets Old • With the discovery of the Americas and Spanish colonization, came a trade of items between the two civilizations. • Many new items were introduced to the Americas as well as Europeans, Asians, and Africans. • This global transfer of plants, animals, disease, and foods is known as “The Columbian Exchange.”
Grapes Olives Turnips Onions Citrus fruits Peaches Pears Bananas Sugar cane Rats earthworms Coffee bean Honey bee Wheat Rice Barley Oats Cattle Sheep Pig Horse Cat Camel Items brought to the New World
Squash Sweet potato Avocado Chili peppers Peanuts Potatoes Tomatoes Corn vanilla Beans Cacao beans Pineapple Pumpkin Turkey Tobacco Syphillis (debatable) Items from Americas to Europeans, Asians, Africans, etc. (Old World)
Some new foods terrified Europeans • People thought the tomatoes were poisonous. • People believed that potatoes caused leprosy. • Even starving peasants were afraid to eat potatoes.
Corn and potatoes • Had the highest effect in the Old World. • Both crops are inexpensive to grow and highly nutritious. • This improved the lives of many peasants and boosted the world’s population. • The planting of the white potato in Ireland and the first sweet potato in China changed their countries’ histories.
"The growth of population...in Northern Europe could not have happened...without the increased nourishment provided by the potato.“ Potatoes thrive in a climate with short, wet winters, such as those of the northern European plains and are rich in calories and nutrients. Potatoes were easier to store (i.e. in the ground) than grains that had to be harvested and put in a barn. For many poor European peasants, the potato "became an insurance..." against ravaging soldiers and tax collectors.
Diseases brought to New World • Smallpox • Influenza • Typhus • Measles • Malaria • Diphtheria • Whooping Cough
Diseases had drastic effects • Native Americans had no immunity to European diseases. • In 1616, a small pox epidemic ravaged the native population. • The population went from 24,000 to only 750 members of the Massachusett tribe in 1631. • An eyewitness said, “They died on heapes, as they lay in their houses.”
Decimation of Native population • Sources vary, but it is estimated that 80%-95% of Native Americans were killed due to new diseases. • 21 million natives died in Mexico alone • Native population in Brazil went from 4 million to 300,000. • Pre-Columbian America estimates over 30 million Native Americans decreased to 8 million by 1650. • Over 100 million natives died between 1500-1800.
"'Smallpox was the captain of the men of death..., typhus fever the first lieutenant, and measles the second lieutenant. More terrible than the conquistatores on horseback, more deadly than sword and gunpowder....'"
Question to ponder • Why did the Native Americans not have the immunity to withstand these types of diseases?
A Commercial Revolution • New wealth in the Americas brought dramatic growth in overseas trade. • This prompted a wave of new business and trading practices.
Rise of Capitalism • Capitalism = economic system based on private ownership and the investment of wealth for profit. • Due to overseas trade, many merchants obtained great wealth. • As a result, businesses across Europe grew and flourished.
Increased money supply • The increased money supply caused prices to rise. • Spain experienced crushing inflation in the 1600s due to boatloads of gold and silver from the Americas greatly increased the nation’s money supply.
Joint –Stock companies • People put their money together to open a company. • There was less risk in joint-stock because several people put in small shares of money instead of one person paying for everything. • That way if the colony or voyage was disastrous, people lost less money, but all investors shared in the profits. • A joint-stock company was responsible for the establishment of Jamestown.
Mercantilism • The idea that a country’s power depended mainly on its wealth. • As a result, the goal of every nation was to gain as much wealth as possible. • Countries could get rich in two ways • Acquiring gold and silver • Establish a favorable balance of trade
Favorable balance of trade • Means for countries to sell more goods than it buys. • A nation’s goal under mercantilism was to become self-sufficient and not have to depend on other countries for goods. • Colonies provided raw materials to home countries. • Home countries sold the goods back to the colonists, sometimes at a higher price.
Effects • Commercial revolution spurred growth in towns. • Because the merchants controlled great wealth, they rose in status. • The new wealth, helped expand the power of European nations.
