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Course: US history > Unit 1
Lesson 3: Old and new worlds collide- Motivation for European conquest of the New World
- Origins of European exploration in the Americas
- Christopher Columbus
- Consequences of Columbus's voyage on the Tainos and Europe
- Christopher Columbus and motivations for European conquest
- The Columbian Exchange
- The Columbian Exchange
- Environmental and health effects of European contact with the New World
- Lesson summary: The Columbian Exchange
- The impact of contact on the New World
- The Columbian Exchange, Spanish exploration, and conquest
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Lesson summary: The Columbian Exchange
Summary of key people, events, and concepts related to the Columbian Exchange.
In 1492, Columbus landed in the Americas, starting a period of exploration and colonization.
Key terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Caravel | A small, fast ship used by the Spanish and Portuguese, which made exploration easier. |
Epidemic | The spread of a disease to a large group of people within a population in a short period of time. |
Mercantilism | An economic theory that was designed to maximize trade for a nation and especially maximize the amount of gold and silver a country had. |
Columbian Exchange | The process by which commodities (horses, tomatoes, sugar, etc.), people, and diseases crossed the Atlantic. |
Triangle trade of the Columbian Exchange
Key themes
Causes of European migration: After 1492, the motivations for European migration to the Americas centered around the three G’s: God, gold, and glory. Gold refers to the desire to extract natural resources like gold and sugar from the New World. European colonizers also had a desire to spread Christianity to the New World. Glory refers to the desire for European colonizers to increase their nation’s status as a world power and gain military strength through colonization.
Technological innovation: European colonization of the Americas was made substantially easier through several technological innovations like compasses, caravels, and astrolabes. It affected economic development by making it possible for large scale trade networks between the Old World and the New World to develop.
Cultural exchanges and trade networks: Initial contact between Native Americans and European colonizers began a process of cultural and biological exchanges between the Old World and the New known as the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange caused population growth in Europe by bringing new crops from the Americas and started Europe’s economic shift towards capitalism. Colonization disrupted ecosytems, bringing in new organisms like pigs, while completely eliminating others like beavers.
Review questions
- What were the goals of Spanish colonization?
- How did technology help fuel European colonization?
- Can you name two positive and two negative effects of the Columbian Exchange?
Want to join the conversation?
- did many natives convert to Christianity?(5 votes)
- I personally do not think they actually accepted Christianity. In "converting" them to Christianity they were just forcing them. I don't personally count that. Plus they all died out.(17 votes)
- This say's that beavers were made extinct in the new world. I live in Massachusetts and there are plenty of beavers. When I looked this up it came back with UK
beavers being almost wiped out in the 1600s. Did I miss something?(0 votes)- It doesn't say they were made extinct. It says they were wiped out of some ecosystems.(20 votes)
- What are some fun facts about Christopher Columbus? What was he ACTUALLY like?(4 votes)
- He was a bigoted bully who tortured and raped Native Americans for fun. He also did not discourage it in his men.(8 votes)
- what was the leading cause of the Colombian exchange?(4 votes)
- Greed was the leading cause.(3 votes)
- what are astrolabes?(1 vote)
- An astrolabe is a old device for astronomy back in the day and they probably used it for sailing(1 vote)
- i belive that some person lied to us and told this story wrong(4 votes)
- i finally got to my last article!(4 votes)
- The lesson said they wanted to spread christianity, but did many natives actually convert?(3 votes)
- I personally do not think so. In "converting" them to Christianity they were just forcing them. I don't personally count that. Plus they all died out.(2 votes)
- The lesson said they wanted to spread christianity, but did many natives actually(2 votes)
- How did the Columbian Exchange change daily life and the environment in the Americas(3 votes)