European Conquest Case Study

The European Conquest: Importance of none human factors.
Question4:
Analyse the relative importance of nonhuman factors in the European conquest of the Americas. Nonhuman factors might include diseases, climate, crops, livestock, etc.

‘Columbus did not discover a new world; he established contact between two worlds, both already old.’ When Columbus arrived he both imported and discovered, a few nonhuman factors which changed the face of the Americas. In this essay, I hope to discuss three nonhuman factors which had an important impact on the Columbus exchange. This essay will include the exchange to the new settlements. The way animals adapted to the new world and the impact they made on their new homes will be included. The essay will

By 1630 20,000 metric tons was transported by Portuguese exports. The significant importance of crops was key in developing Brazil into a wealthy country. The planters then began carry out experiments and studies. Brazil became the world’s leading sugar industry. After the success in Brazil the plantations moved to the eastern Caribbean. Some islands included a Saint Dominique and Jamaica and after 1700 more plantation were created in Cuba, Manutius, Natal Peru, Hawaii and Fiji. The Caribbean was beneficial for its volcanic soil. Rice grow in wet areas and fruit trees flourished such as figs, bananas, oranges and lemons. Cuba is a very fertile island with a small number of mounting or hill areas. This make crops like sugar cane and tobacco plants grow. Sugar dominated the history of early modern Europe. In the 1600s, the Hispaniola produced high excess sugar.
During the sugar revolution, the English and French dominated the majority of the West Indies. Tobacco prices dropped, therefore sugar was the alternative solution. Sugar was in high demand in Europe as it could only be grown in the tropics. The English and French was unskilled in the sugar productions, unlike the Spanish who had been growing sugar over a hundred years. An anonymous account from Parry’s A Short History of the West Indies

The first factor was disease. Disease was the main influence in the decimation of Mexicans. Historians Thomas, Crosby and Restall all agreed on this point. Smallpox, Measles, Whooping Cough, Malaria, the Flu, Mumps and Cocolizth were some of the disease which killed the old worlds people. Smallpox began in Mexico and spread inland. The Valley of Mexico and Peru were also highly inflicted from diseases. In the aftermath of the Colubus exchange, 90% of the natives perished. In my opinion, disease was the biggest and most fatal influences in the conquest and resulted in high mortality