People in Motion: The Atlantic World to 1590

Chapter 1

Columbus and the Columbian Exchange Chapter 1-3

Columbus Encounters the “Indians”

• In 1492, Columbus set off from Spain on a westward voyage to seek a new sea-based trade route to Asia as well as Gold, God, and Glory.

• While Columbus was not the first European to set foot in the Americas or establish contact with Native peoples, his voyage brought together Europe and the Americas in ways that early contact had not.

• The printing press made Columbus’s voyage widely publicized and it inspired future explorers to travel across the Atlantic.

• Most importantly Columbus’s voyage set off one of the most far-reaching set of events in the history of the world.

• The Columbian Exchange transformed the world and a range of foods, plants, animals, and diseases were exchanged between the old world and the new.

“Map Depicting The Columbian Exchange”

European Technology in the Era of the Columbian Exchange • Technological improvements to navigation tools and ships as well as

improved mapmaking techniques allowed Europeans to begin exploring beyond their coastlines.

• Europeans also possessed a clear technological and military advantage over the peoples of the Americas. • Guns, Germs, and Steel

Johannes Stradanus, “Nova Reperta,” 1584

The Conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires

• Waves of Spanish explorers and conquerors(conquistadores) followed Columbus across the Atlantic.

• The Spanish seized control of the islands in the Caribbean and instituted a harsh labor regime on their plantations and brought deadly diseases that wiped out the indigenous populations – up to 95% in some areas.

• The Spanish turned to imported African slave labor to work the plantations producing sugar and other cash crops.

• Following rumors about wealthy civilizations on the mainland – Hernán Cortés traveled to Mexico and conquered the Aztec Empire and Francisco Pizzaro toppled the Inca Empire in South America.

• The Spanish proceeded to extract mineral resources, agricultural products, and labor from the native land and population.

“Hernan Cortes’s Conquest of the Aztec”

“Francisco Pizzaro’s Conquest of the Incas 1531”

Questions:

• Why were Columbus's voyages to the Caribbean significant?

• What was the Columbian Exchange?

• How did the Columbian Exchange impact both Europe and the Americas?