Columbian Exchange DBQ

661 Words2 Pages

The trading of products and goods between the old world and new world led to economical and population issues. Although they benefited from trading at first, it introduced several problems (Doc 1, Doc 5, & Doc 7). The Americas shipped sugar, rice, wheat, coffee, bananas, and grapes to the Europeans and in return, the Europeans shipped enumerated articles back such as tobacco, beans, maize, tomato, cacao, cotton, and potato (Doc 5). Through the trading of products and goods, diseases were introduced by the Europeans (Doc 5). Not too long after diseases began to spread, the economy shifts to a large scale of agricultural production resulting in slavery, using black slaves to harvest cash crops such as sugar cane (Doc 1). Two specific products, …show more content…

The positive outcomes were because of the trading of new crops and new animals (Doc 5 and Doc 8). Europeans adopted crops from the Americas, which led to changes in their cuisines (Doc 8). Several crops were exchanged between the old and new world, but one of the most important crops in Europe were potatoes (Doc 5). Potatoes could be left non-harvested until they were ready to be eaten, therefore allowing Europeans to avoid paying taxes since tax was not charged for not yet harvested crops (Doc 8). Animals such as pigs, horses, cattle, and sheep also had a significant impact of the environment (Doc 5). They were useful animals, which could reproduce without being hindered by other predators (Doc 8). Pigs could be used as a source of food, and horses allowed for battle and faster travel (Doc 8). Trading between the old and new world at first was a benefit but eventually caused great economical …show more content…

The spread of disease through trade nearly diminished the whole population (Doc 2, Doc 4, & Doc 6). According to Geoffrey Cowley and Dinesh D’Souza, the Europeans who crossed the Atlantic have each battled an illness resulting in the Native Americans later becoming immunologically defenseless (Doc 2 & Doc 6). The Native population of Central Mexico in 1519 began at 25.3 million, but in 1605, the population drastically dropped to 1 million (Doc 4). The vast majority of Indian casualties were not due to hard labor nor deliberate destruction but occurred due to the contagious diseases spread by the Europeans; smallpox, measles, influenza, and typhus (Doc 6). The Indians, having not developed any immunity to the unfamiliar illnesses transmitted by the Europeans, quickly began to diminish, leaving behind a small population. A document that would have been useful would’ve be one from a women’s view on the economy. Men wrote all documents so this additional document could have provided information about how the Columbian Exchange impacted the women population and their views on

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