The voyages of discovery and the Columbian exchange

The voyages of discovery and the Columbian exchange

 

At the start of the fifteenth century, the countries of Europe started a global series of traveling and explorations that created a new face of world history. The Age of Exploration/discovery was the name used for these kinds of investigations and ran between the 15th and the seventeen centuries respectively. It is during this period that Europe expanded to areas such as Africa, the Far East, and America. The period is well defined by people like Ferdinand Magellan (1519-1522) who expeditiously traversed the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans respectively and the first individual to circumnavigate the world. The argument about Columbus being the first person to discover America is very dichotomous as there are are other people from Europe who had visited this kind of destination before. It is supposed to be phrased that he ‘encountered’ and not he discovered. Columbus encountered America and also did honor the duty given to him by the then Spanish queen Isabella. He was not only circumnavigating, adventurously sailing but to share in the many profits emanating from encountering the indies.  //

The following are the ideas to in the voyages of discovery and the Columbian exchange

Discovery of America

There is an argument about the first European to reach America. Leif Ericson is said to be the first one to explore the American block through the Nose Expedition. Nevertheless, Columbus is supposed to be the first one to establish a widespread interest in America.  He made it the target for French, Spanish, and English colonizers among others. The leading causes of the migration of the Europeans. From 1493 onwards, the Europeans started traveling to America based on the desire for glory, God and gold. They came from their native lands top spread Christianity, search for natural resources like sugar and gold and enhance their national status as a superpower as well as strengthening their military via colonization.

The New and the Old

The fifteenth century was characterized by the European merchants reviving some trading networks that had been shattered. The China Sea and the. Indian oceans respectively were the specific maritime networks that were utilized in the voyages. Driven by the desire to making profits, they visited the east African coast and realized a new route to Asia. Columbus, on the other hand, was sponsored to tour America. It was a great astonishment to recognize that Asia was behind Europe concerning developments.

Introduction of new goods to the New World

The traversing of the Atlantic Ocean by the Europeans was very significant. Some animals and plants were introduced to America.  Dreadful diseases also came up which transformed landscapes and the lives of the visitors and the hosts. The new world people suffered from mumps, measles, smallpox, chicken pox. , on the other hand, was transmitted to the Europeans from the Americans. Among others and led to the death of many people as they had no immunity against them.among all items in the world of the Atlantic, sugar was deemed the essential commodity. It was as significant as oil in the current dispensation. European rivals created plantations of sugar and fought battles to secure the crop. The old world already had refined sugar, but the European climate was very harsh for crop growth. Columbus introduced sugar in America in 1493. The subsequent century was characterized by extensive plantations of sugar in the Caribbean islands, among other tropical zones. This was the crop that pioneered the enslavement of Africans top provide labor.

Introduction of new goods to the Old World

Tobacco was initially a crop grown in the US. It was considered a divine plant that could salvage the people from some diseases. It was also used in rituals. The Americans believed that tobacco enhanced wisdom and Improved concentration. To others, it implied attaining an altered, divine, or entranced state. The Europeans took this plant to their homeland and began smoking in the belief that it could cure skin irritations and headaches. After 1590, the crop became a global cash crop, just because of the massive European importation to their countries. Chocolate was also introduced to the European block. The introduction of these two crops to the European countries shows that the ne3w discovery significantly contributed to the transformation of the Europeans habits. Their consumption of chocolate brought about a ‘divine’ feeling, of course, due to the stimulant contained in it called theobromine.

Technological innovation

The colonization of the Americans by the Europeans was necessitated by the invention of several items like the astrolabes, caravels, and compasses. This kind of change also impacted economic growth facilitating large-scale networks of trade between the New Earth to sprout and the Ancient World.

Trade networks and cultural exchanges

The original contact between European colonizers and Native Americans established biological and cultural exchanges process between the New Known and the Ancient World by the name: Columbian Exchange.  This kind of exchange escalated the growth of the population in the European block via new crop importation from America. The introduction o the crops pioneered capitalism in the continent. Colonization also disrupted the underlying ecosystems, importing new animals like pigs. This bringing in of new organisms eliminated others, for example, the beavers.

 

 
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