ANSWER:
The Columbian Exchange
• Columbian Exchange—movement of living things between hemispheres
• Exchange began after Columbus' voyages to Americas
- Europeans shipped corn, potatoes, pineapples from America
- brought domestic animals (horses), diseases (smallpox, measles)
• Native Americans had no resistance to diseases; 20 million died
Changing International Trade Patterns
• Columbian Exchange changed world trade patterns
• Much world trade fueled by Spainʼs silver mining in South America
- silver moved from Americas to Europe, then to China
- Chinese goods (silk, porcelain), Indian spices returned to Europe
• Triangular trade—Europe, Americas, Africa exchanged goods, slaves
- enslaved Africans worked in West Indies; sugar cane sent to Europe
The Spread of Culture
• Ideas, culture exchanged between continents along with goods
• Spain, Portugal spread Christianity; explorers converted natives
- converted Christians blended new religion with traditional beliefs
• Europeans blended cultural practices imported from other lands
- Arabian coffee with American sugar became a popular drink
