Negative Effects Of European Exploration

During the renaissance time period as great artists and inventors were at work in Europe, another type of renaissance was occurring by way of exploration. This time period is called the age of exploration, and it connected the so called Old World with the new and relatively unexplored New World. Because of this contact, many changes took place in both the New and Old Worlds. Some of the results of this contact were the introduction of slavery as a more global commercial enterprise and an increase in diversity of plants, animals, and ideas. Another result of European exploration of the Americas was the devastation of native cultures and populations by disease. European exploration of the Americas had many positive and negative effects for both

Although the slave trade currently existed during this time period, it was a relatively small enterprise compared to what it would become. There simply wasn’t that great of a demand for slave labor before the discovering of the Americas. However, as shown in Document 1 (no source), the Native Americans were enslaved by the Spaniards for the excavation of gold. Because of the discovery of this vast collection of resources in the Americas, Europeans suddenly needed a lot more labor in order to collect those resources such as gold and sugar. In Document 4 (From a letter by Christopher Columbus - has been modified), Christopher Columbus states that, “They ought to be good servants and of good skill.” This is one of Columbus’s first encounters with the native people and he is already contemplating their ability to serve him. This shows the almost desperate need for labor in the New World, a need that was not present before the discovery of the Americas. An additional Document that depicts the enslavement of the native people is Document 5 (no source). It shows a picture of what life was like for the Native Americans after contact with Europeans. In the picture they are farming and tilling the ground - very different from their nomadic lifestyle. However, the Native Americans had no immunity against European diseases, dying very quickly from illnesses such as small pox and

In Document 6 (from The Columbian Exchange at a Glance) a chart is shown depicting the exchange of plants and animals between the New and Old Worlds. Although both sides contributed numerous amounts of both plants and animals to the other, the Old World’s animals had the largest impact on the New World. One of the more important transfers from Europe to the Americas was the horse. Although the horse is native to Europe and the Middle East, it played a major role in the development of cultures here in the Americas. In contrast, the New World mainly contributed plants and crops to the Old World, such as potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and cacao (the source of chocolate). Many of the plants influential in the development of certain cultures and cuisines were introduced during the Colombian Exchange. Without the introduction of tomatoes into Italy, there would be no pizza or marinara sauce, and the island of Ireland almost entirely relied on potatoes after their introduction to Europe. None of this would have occurred without European exploration of the Americas. This exchange of crops and animals benefited both sides of the globe by contributing to the growth and diversity of culture and