Christopher Columbus Persuasive Essay

1686 Words7 Pages

Tori Adamczyk
Mrs. Ooms
Global Studies 4B
3 March 2023
Christopher Columbus
During the Age of Exploration, many explorers set sail looking for new land and riches. Christopher Columbus was one of many explorers that were able to succeed in their journey. Columbus was an Italian-Spanish explorer born in the Republic of Genoa in the year 1451. Before Columbus arrived in the Americas, he had multiple journeys, including sailing to Portugal, England, Ireland, Madeira, Africa, the Canary Islands, and Iceland. After his previous voyages, Columbus believed that he could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe. At first, Columbus was denied the voyage he proposed in 1434. However, in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to support …show more content…

Examples of the food and plants that were traded from the Americas to Europe included tobacco, peppers, tomatoes, peanuts, pineapple, and turkey. The trade-off of food, plants, and ideas between the Old World and New World after Columbus’ voyages revolutionized European diets. They slowly began replacing traditional European ingredients with American foods that had become staples in the basic diets of the area. In the article “Columbian Exchange” by Janet Long-Solís, Long-Solís explains, “Upon their arrival in Europe, American plants revolutionized European diets as they slowly began replacing traditional ingredients and became staples in the basic diets of the area. They provided a more nutritional diet and helped put an end to the chronic famines that had affected Europe since the Middle Ages'' (Long-Solís). The foods and plants that were found in the Americas changed many people's diets, and also cured famines that occurred years earlier. Before Columbus’ expedition, and after the Middle Ages, Europe experienced famines that were destroying their population. However, these foods from the New World helped combat these famines, and as a result, people were excited to explore the Americas. In addition to the exchange of food and plants from the New World to the Old World, there was also an exchange of …show more content…

As Europeans moved into the Americas, they brought changes to almost every aspect of the land and its people. Therefore, European goods and ideas shaped and transformed the continent. In the article by Linda Newson, she states, “Like most immigrants, those who went to the Americas were interested not only in improving their economic and social standing but also in replicating their culture. However, different European powers had different colonial objectives and the peoples and environments they encountered in the Americas also differed” (Newson 1). This quote explains that people immigrated to the Americas in hope of finding a better way to live their life. After the Dark and Middle Ages, people wanted to pursue their culture in an area where they could have a fresh start. This initiated an extensive exchange of material goods, traditions, and ideas that were to have ecological impacts, not only in the Americas and Europe but also in the wider world. The exchange of goods and materials was overall a good thing for Europe and the Americas. In the same article, Newson also added that “The nature of European contact in North America was initially significantly different. North America was relatively sparsely settled and the earliest interests of the English, Dutch, and French were in the exploitation of its natural resources rather than the establishment