Dbq Columbian Exchange

Words: 870
Pages: 4

Chapter Preview (Ch. 15)

1. Before Columbus, world contacts were limited to countries with proximity to the Indian Ocean (Europe, Africa, the Middle East, China, and India). Due to the intense trading between these few places, the formation of culturally diverse port cities occurred, such as in the South China Sea. Competition for market monopolization also occurred, and often lead to conflict, as evident in the feuds between the Ottoman and Persian empires over trade routes to the East.

2. The Europeans undertook voyages of expansion because of religious fervor, profits, and lack of opportunity in Europe. The Portuguese and Spanish continued the Christian crusade, encouraged by the reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. Europeans sought profits in order to engage in luxury goods, because at the time, the Ottoman empire had control over trade routes. The Europeans were seeking either metals on new land in order to trade with the Ottomans, or new trade routes to develop their own monopoly. An example of a profit-seeker is Hernando Cortes, who exploited the people of the Mexicas in order to generate profits. The voyages were made easier and more appealing due to technological innovation, such as the Portuguese caravel, which was easier to navigate and held more cargo, and the rise of Ptolemy’s Geography, which made use
…show more content…
The impacts of conquest were disease, a rise in slavery, distinct colonial lives, and a change in diet for Europeans. New diseases were introduced to the indigenous peoples of the new world and more often than not proved fatal, resulting in a large loss in their populations. Slavery became more prominent because under the Spanish encomienda system, a disguised form of slavery, Natives were used for labor and compensated merely with provisions for basic survival. Distinct colonial lives were formed, mainly under of the influence of women. Europeans’ diets changed dramatically due to the influx of new foods made available by the Columbian