THE IMPACT OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

Essential Question: What were the global impacts of the European Age of Exploration? https://youtu.be/-6Wu0Q7x5D0

The Impact of the Age of Exploration EUROPE

Europe was greatly impacted by the Age of Exploration Overseas colonies increased the wealth of European nations and the power of kings The explorations and conquests of the conquistadors transformed Spain. The Spanish rapidly expanded foreign trade and overseas colonization. For a time, wealth from the Americas made Spain one of the world’s richest and most powerful nations. At the height of Spain’s power it was ruled by Philip II. In the long run, gold and silver from the Americas hurt Spain’s economy. Inflation, or an increase in the supply of money compared to goods, led to higher prices. Monarchs and the wealthy spent their riches wastefully instead of building up Spain’s industries. Spain’s King Philip II

This was especially true in Spain where the influx of gold turned Spain into one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in Europe

ENGLAND The increase in trade led to the growth of capitalism, especially in England and the Netherlands NETHERLANDS

Capitalism is a system in which merchants trade and invest money in order to make a profit; prices are determined by supply and demand

Citizens can invest money in companies like the British East India Company and share in the profits

Nations developed an economic policy called mercantilism based upon the idea that national power comes from a favorable balance of trade Mercantilism As a result, colonies are needed to supply the mother country with cheap raw materials

Due to mercantilism, a “triangular trade” developed between Europe, their overseas colonies, and Africa

The Impact of the Age of Exploration Asia, America, Africa

Asia was greatly impacted by the Age of Exploration The Portuguese and Dutch seized trade ports in the Spice Islands and in India in order to gain exotic goods like cotton and spices

European merchants began to dominate trade in China and Japan and converted many people to Christianity

America was greatly impacted by the Age of Exploration The Columbian Exchange The global transfer of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of the Americas is known as the Columbian Exchange. Ships from the Americas brought back a wide array of items that Europeans, Asians, and Africans had never before seen. They included such plants as tomatoes, squash, pineapples, tobacco, and cacao beans (for chocolate). And they included animals such as the turkey, which became a source of food in the Eastern Hemisphere. Perhaps the most important items to travel from the Americas to the rest of the world were corn and potatoes. Both were inexpensive to grow and nutritious. Potatoes, especially, supplied many essential vitamins and minerals. Over time, both crops became an important and steady part of diets throughout the world. These foods helped people live longer. Thus they played a significant role in boosting the world’s population. The planting of the first white potato in Ireland and the first sweet potato in China probably changed more lives than the deeds of 100 kings. Traffic across the Atlantic did not flow in just one direction, however. Europeans introduced various livestock animals into the Americas. These included horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Foods from Africa (including some that originated in Asia) migrated west in European ships. They included bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams. Grains introduced to the Americas included wheat, rice, barley, and oats. Some aspects of the Columbian Exchange had a tragic impact on many Native Americans. Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian Exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans brought with them, which included smallpox and measles, led to the deaths of millions of Native Americans. America was greatly impacted by the Age of Exploration

Catholic missionaries introduced Christianity to the American Indians

The Columbian Exchange The global transfer of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of the Americas is known as the Columbian Exchange. Ships from the Americas brought back a wide array of items that Europeans, Asians, and Africans had never before seen. They included such plants as tomatoes, squash, pineapples, tobacco, and cacao beans (for chocolate). And they included animals such as the turkey, which became a source of food in the Eastern Hemisphere. Perhaps the most important items to travel from the Americas to the rest of the world were corn and potatoes. Both were inexpensive to grow and nutritious. Potatoes, especially, supplied many essential vitamins and minerals. Over time, both crops became an important and steady part of diets throughout the world. These foods helped people live longer. Thus they played a significant role in boosting the world’s population. The planting of the first white potato in Ireland and the first sweet potato in China probably changed more lives than the deeds of 100 kings. Traffic across the Atlantic did not flow in just one direction, however. Europeans introduced various livestock animals into the Americas. These included horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Foods from Africa (including some that originated in Asia) migrated west in European ships. They included bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams. Grains introduced to the Americas included wheat, rice, barley, and oats. Some aspects of the Columbian Exchange had a tragic impact on many Native Americans. Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian Exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans brought with them, which included smallpox and measles, led to the deaths of millions of Native Americans. The introduction of new foods, plants, and animals between America and Europe was called the Columbian Exchange

The introduction of potatoes and corn helped improve the diets and life expectancy of people throughout the world The introduction of European grains, horses, and cattle transformed many Indian cultures Traffic across the Atlantic did not flow in just one direction, however. Europeans introduced various livestock animals into the Americas. These included horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Foods from Africa (including some that originated in Asia) migrated west in European ships. They included bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams. Grains introduced to the Americas included wheat, rice, barley, and oats. Some aspects of the Columbian Exchange had a tragic impact on many Native Americans. Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian Exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans brought with them, which included smallpox and measles, led to the deaths of millions of Native Americans.

The introduction of European diseases like smallpox and influenza killed as many as 90% of Native Americans

Europeans introduced the plantation system in America The Columbian Exchange The global transfer of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of the Americas is known as the Columbian Exchange. Ships from the Americas brought back a wide array of items that Europeans, Asians, and Africans had never before seen. They included such plants as tomatoes, squash, pineapples, tobacco, and cacao beans (for chocolate). And they included animals such as the turkey, which became a source of food in the Eastern Hemisphere. Perhaps the most important items to travel from the Americas to the rest of the world were corn and potatoes. Both were inexpensive to grow and nutritious. Potatoes, especially, supplied many essential vitamins and minerals. Over time, both crops became an important and steady part of diets throughout the world. These foods helped people live longer. Thus they played a significant role in boosting the world’s population. The planting of the first white potato in Ireland and the first sweet potato in China probably changed more lives than the deeds of 100 kings. Traffic across the Atlantic did not flow in just one direction, however. Europeans introduced various livestock animals into the Americas. These included horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Foods from Africa (including some that originated in Asia) migrated west in European ships. They included bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams. Grains introduced to the Americas included wheat, rice, barley, and oats. Some aspects of the Columbian Exchange had a tragic impact on many Native Americans. Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian Exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans brought with them, which included smallpox and measles, led to the deaths of millions of Native Americans. Europeans introduced the plantation system in America

These large cash crop farms were called encomiendas

Encomiendas required a large supply of workers, which increased the need for slaves (especially after disease killed off so many Indians)

Africa was greatly impacted by the Age of Exploration The demand for workers on American plantations, especially in the Caribbean and Brazil, led to the African slave trade; disease killed most of the Indians, so Europeans looked to Africa as a source of slaves Africa was greatly impacted by the Age of Exploration

Slave Ships

The “Coffin” position used below deck

African captives being thrown overboard

Slave auction upon arrival in America

Hard labor at a sugar plantation in Haiti

For 300 years, slaves were sold in West Africa and brought to America along a route across the Atlantic Ocean known as the Middle Passage

The majority of African slaves worked in harsh conditions on sugar and indigo plantations or in gold and silver mines

The Atlantic Slave Trade remains one of history’s worst atrocities Africans were treated like things, not people; this led to brutal treatment and indifference to their lives and well-being

The Atlantic Slave Trade uprooted millions of Africans from their native lands, split up countless families, and led to miserable lives for those who were enslaved