Columbian Exchange Research Paper

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One cause of the Columbian Exchange was Spain's interest in finding a more direct route to India to trade for spices and various other goods. In 1492 Spain sent Christopher Columbus to find an easier and faster way to sail to India. On his way, he ran into North and South America. This vast new land for Afro-Eurasian societies sparked a desire for new goods found on these continents. This voyage sparked years of cultural diffusion and numerous new trade routes from Europe to the Americas. One result of the Columbian Exchange on the Americas was the widespread disease brought from the Europeans. From Europe, Europeans brought smallpox, measles, and chickenpox. The indigenous people were not immune to these diseases unlike the Europeans. Because …show more content…

With Potatoes being so easy to grow large communities could feed all the population with ease. The potato had many vitamins like vitamin C and potassium that Afro-Eurasian people had never had before. This caused them to be much healthier and raised the general average life expectancy. The Columbian Exchange caused the introduction of the potato in Afro-Eurasian societies. One cause of the Atlantic slave trade was the scarcity of Native American slaves in the Americas. When the Americas were discovered they enslaved all the indigenous Natives and forced them into harsh labor. After working them so hard and killing them with their diseases most of the Natives died, causing a demand for new slaves. Both South and North America imported millions of Africans to replace the Natives. This mass importation of Africans was a major cause of the Atlantic slave trade. The Atlantic slave trade had many impacts on the Americas. One of these was the sheer amount of slaves imported into the Americas. Twelve and a half million slaves were taken from their homes in Africa and transported to the Americas to harvest crops like cotton and sugar. These slaves were treated inhumane and like property eventually leading to a feeling of racial superiority among Americans in the New World. In the Americas the Atlantic slave sparked many changes throughout both

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