Lecture 4: Nuun & Qian (Settlements, Colonizations, and the Conquest-Expansion

the Columbian Exchange transformed _______ ______ in the Old World as well as in the New world

global agriculture

what are the vital crops that came from the New World to the Old World?

potatoes, maize, sweet potatoes, and cassava (transformed diets)

chili peppers, vanilla and cacao (transformed cooking and cuisines)

tobacco and coca (transformed lifestyles)

how did European diseases impact the New World through the Columbian Exchange

devastated Native America populations (between 80-90% of populations decimated)

diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza

what was the disease whose origin was debated?

syphilis

what was the primary benefit of New World staples in the Old World?

New World staples could be grown in Old World climates that were unsuitable for the cultivation of Old World staples (due to similar latitude)

what was the New World crop that arguably had the largest impact on the Old World?

the potato because it provided an abundant supply of calories and nutrients

the potato had a significant positive impact on population growth, explaining 12% of the increase in the average population after its adoption

the Columbian exchange

the large scale transfer of diseases, crops, people, and ideas between the New and Old Worlds following Columbus’ voyage in 1492

what scientific impacts did the Columbian Exchange have?

invention of quinine (malaria treatment) enables European expansion

what economic impacts did the Columbian Exchange have?

strengthened European merchant classes, reshaping institutions and trade

what are the positive and negative effects of reliance on a single crop like potatoes?

potatoes could be grown in a variety of climates, they were durable, and provided a large portion of calories

the negative effect of reliance on potatoes was that diseases could destroy the crop- Irish potato famine

how did the Columbian Exchange reshape populations?

Trans-Atlantic slave trade- Africans forced into slave labor (12 million people)

large scale migrations of indentured laborers (often from Asia)

millions of Europeans migrating to Americas looking for new opportunities

how was the Trans Atlantic Slave trade a result of the effects of the Columbian Exchange?

the Columbian exchange created labor shortages due to its fatal effect on Native Americans, the labor shortage was filled by African people who were enslaved

how did the Columbian Exchange have effects globally?

Quinine treated malaria and allowed colonization in places like Africa (tool of empire)

rubber played a role in global trade - used to be an American monopoly, but this changed when rubber trees were planted in Southeast Asia

rubber also devastated Native populations