ipl-logo

Pre-Columbian Discoveries Essay

735 Words3 Pages

4/28/2023
Pre-Columbian Discoveries of the Americas
[1] As historians continue to study the history of the Americas, there is increasing evidence to suggest that Christopher Columbus was not the first explorer to discover the continent. Instead, a number of cultures may have had knowledge of and contact with the Americas long before Columbus's famous voyage in 1492. This paper seeks to explore the different theories of pre-Columbian contact, how these cultures came across the continents, what settlements or trade relationships were developed, and the long-term impact of these discoveries.

[2] The Vikings were known for their exploration of the North Atlantic, and they may have been the first Europeans to reach North America. According to Fitzhugh …show more content…

It demonstrated that Europeans were capable of reaching the Americas, and it may have inspired later explorers like Columbus. Additionally, the Viking discovery of North America added to the growing body of evidence that there were more continents beyond Europe, Asia, and Africa.

[4] The Polynesians are another culture that may have had contact with the Americas before Columbus. According to Kirch (2000), there is compelling evidence to suggest that the Polynesians may have reached South America, potentially trading with the Inca Empire. The evidence supporting this theory includes linguistic and genetic evidence, as well as the spread of the sweet potato, which is believed to have originated in South America.

[5] The theory of Polynesian contact with the Americas is controversial, and there is a lack of conclusive evidence. However, if the theory is true, it would have had a significant impact on the exchange of goods and ideas between the Americas and Polynesia. The Polynesians were known for their seafaring abilities, and they may have been able to establish trade relationships between the two …show more content…

The Viking settlement in North America, the theory of Polynesian contact with the Americas, and the theory of Chinese discovery of the Americas have all had significant impacts on our understanding of the world's history. These discoveries have demonstrated the capabilities of different cultures and their abilities to explore and connect with distant regions. While the evidence surrounding these theories is not conclusive, they provide valuable insights into the exchange of goods and ideas between different cultures and the history of the

Show More
Related

Fried Green Tomatoes Character Analysis

126 Words | 1 Pages

Evelyn Couch is a character in the film “Fried Green Tomatoes”. She is blind to the beauty of life, until she meets Ninny Threadgoode, an 80-year-old with a child’s heart. Ninny teaches Evelyn to look beyond life’s outer ugliness to its inner beauty. She tells her the story of Idgia Threadgoode, a young woman who looked beyond the outer prejudices of the Deep South and saw inner visions of exciting new possibilities. That story, especially, helped Evelyn to see herself and life around her in a whole new way.

Read More

Chapter 14 Long Essay Questions

842 Words | 4 Pages

Matthew Gurovich 9/21/15 Period 7 Chapter 14 Long Essay Question Prompt #3 Throughout the era of exploration, several countries in Europe such as Portugal and Spain led multiple expeditions to western continents, now known as the Americas. Within the journey, generals such as Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes stumbled upon several native civilizations, amongst them being the Aztecs in Mexico, and the Incas in South America. The fact that technology, agriculture, and ideas could spread much easier from west to east, rather than from north to south, was largely thanks to geographical and climatic factors.

Read More

DBQ: Impact Of The Columbian Exchange On The New World

646 Words | 3 Pages

Kazi Ayaan Mr. Hackney World Cultures 9 March 2023 Columbian Exchange DBQ The Columbian Exchange was a historic event, between 1500 - 1750 CE, that quickly transformed the world by bringing together two hemispheres of the world connecting people, plants, animals, and ideas which had never been seen before. Before the Columbian Exchange, Native American societies were prospering, they had an excess of land to grow crops which could not be found elsewhere. The Columbian Exchange which was the result of a trek made by Christopher Columbus, which amalgamated the Old World and the New World together.

Read More

Distinctive Demographics Of The Columbian Exchange

1373 Words | 6 Pages

The Columbian Exchange primarily stemmed from the European’s economic thirst. However, they had no clue a simple journey to discover faster trade routes would lead to such a dramatic world change. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus and 90 brave crewmen set sail to discover faster more efficient trade routes to Asia. However, this journey turned into them discovering a New World with almost endless opportunities to grow not only economically, but also intellectually. They discovered new demographics, agriculture, and pathogens.

Read More

The Columbian Exchange And Its Effect On Americans And Europeans

232 Words | 1 Pages

The Columbian Exchange had a big impact in both Americans and Europeans. The Columbian exchange was foods, plants, animals, humans, and diseases. Cows are an example of the Columbian Exchange they were introduced by Europeans to the Americans. The exchange of plants, animals, diseases and technology transformed the Europeans life. The Europeans also brought the smallpox disease.

Read More

Columbian Exchange Research Paper

1173 Words | 5 Pages

The term “Columbian Exchange” and the year 1492 are two extremely defining parts of American history and life in general. The Columbian Exchange caused a swapping of crops, animals, religions, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World. This exchange of goods and animals caused a reconnection between the continents that were once joined as one large landmass, Pangaea, many years ago. The discovery of the New World by the Old World causes one to consider why the Old World was so successful and how different the world would be if the roles of discovery were reversed and the New World discovered the Old.

Read More

Essay On The Columbian Exchange

454 Words | 2 Pages

"The Columbian Exchange '' by Khan Academy supports this claim because it says that The Columbian Exchange introduced many different products from different places around the world to other places around the world. This evidence supports my claim because the website tells us how the Columbian Exchange helped the advancement of the New and Old World.

Read More

Plants During The Columbian Exchange

1203 Words | 5 Pages

The Columbian Exchange is a timeframe during which the cultural and biological exchanges were conducted between the New and Old Worlds. Exchanges between Europeans and Native Americans of items such as plants, animals, diseases, and technology had a dramatic impact on lives on each side of Atlantic. Initiated with Columbus’ discovery in 1492 the exchange lasted throughout the years of expansion and discovery. Improvements in agricultural production, increased mortality rates, evolution of warfare, and education were a few illustrations of the consequences of Columbian Exchange on both Europeans and Native Americans. Diseases as the Negative Exchange

Read More

The Moral Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

830 Words | 4 Pages

Historians differ on what they think about the net result of the European arrival in the New World. Considering that the Columbian Exchange, which refers to “exchange of plants, animals, people, disease, and culture between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas after Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492,” led to possibly tens of millions of deaths on the side of the American Indians, but also enabled agricultural and technological trade (Henretta et al. 42), I cannot help but reflect on whether the effects should be addressed as a historical or a moral question. The impact that European contact had on the indigenous populations of North America should be understood as a moral question because first, treating it as a historical question is difficult due to lack of reliable historical evidence; second, the meaning of compelling historical claims is contestable as the academic historian perspective tends to view the American Indian oral history as invalid; and finally, what happened to the native Indians is morally repulsive and must be discussed as such. The consequences of European contact should be answered as a moral question because historically, it is hard to be historically objective in the absence of valid and dependable historical evidence.

Read More

How Did The Europeans Affect Native Americans

1079 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the late 1400’s and the 1500’s, the world experienced many changes due to the discoveries of new lands and peoples that had been never been visited before. The new-found lands of the Americas and exploration of Africa by the Europeans led to new colonies and discoveries in both areas. It also brought different societies and cultures together that had never before communicated, causing conflict in many of these places. While the Europeans treated both the Native Americans and West Africans as inferior people, the early effects they had on the Native Americans were much worse. Beginning in the late 1400’s, many different European explorers started to look for new trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere in order to gain economic and religious power.

Read More

Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

548 Words | 3 Pages

Prior to Columbus’ arrival to the Americas, many of the early settlers migrated south and developed advanced civilizations such as the Incas in Peru, the Aztecs in Mexico, and the Mayas in Central America. It wasn’t until 1492 that Columbus sailed the ocean blue and landed on the Americas thinking he had arrived in the Indies. This landing was revolutionary. Despite the continued subjugation of native peoples, Columbus’ discovery of America marked a drastic turning point in the global economy and society through the introduction of the Columbian Exchange to the deaths of Native Americans and increased competition for New World land holdings among the Europeans.

Read More

Columbian Exchange Thesis

1498 Words | 6 Pages

The Columbian Exchange Let’s talk about an exchange, to be more specific the Columbian Exchange. Now what exactly was the Columbian Exchange? You may have heard it before during class and never paid much attention to it because same. Nonetheless it is good you are here reading this because you can finally get knowledgeable and be able to finally understand the important significance the Columbian Exchange brought to the New World. Now here I am eagerly waiting to tell you all about it.

Read More

The Columbian Exchange

892 Words | 4 Pages

The Columbian Exchange refers to the monumental transfer of goods such as: ideas, foods, animals, religions, cultures, and even diseases between Afroeurasia and the Americas after Christopher Columbus’ voyage in 1492. The significance of the Columbian Exchange is that it created a lasting tie between the Old and New Worlds that established globalization and reshaped history itself (Garcia, Columbian Exchange). Worlds that had been separated by vast oceans for years began to merge and transform the life on both sides of the Atlantic (The Effects of the Columbian Exchange). This massive exchange of goods gave rise to social, political, and economic developments that dramatically impacted the world (Garcia, Columbian Exchange). During this time,

Read More

Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Columbian Exchange

574 Words | 3 Pages

During the early 1400’s European exploration initiated changes in technology, farming, disease and other cultural things ultimately impacting the Native Americans and Europeans. Throughout Columbus’ voyages, he initiated the global exchange that changed the world. The exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New World began soon after Columbus returned to Spain from the Americas. These changes had multiple effects, that were both positive and negative. Although the Columbian Exchange had numerous benefits and drawbacks but the drawbacks outweighs the benefits.

Read More

How Did The Columbian Exchange Affect Native Americans

598 Words | 3 Pages

During the late 1400s and the early 1500s, European expeditioners began to explore the New World. Native Americans, who were living in America originally, were much different than the Europeans arriving at the New World; they had a different culture, diet, and religion. Eventually, both the Native Americans and the European colonists exchanged different aspects of their life. For example, Native Americans gave the Europeans corn, and the Europeans in return gave them modern weapons, such as various types of guns. This type of trade was called “the Columbian Exchange.”

Read More

More about Pre-Columbian Discoveries Essay

Related Topics

Open Document