The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange

Erwin Middle SchoolMr. Mr. ScullionScullion

Southern and Central Southern and Central America America

Southern and Central America

The Americas became a great source of profit for many Europeans. The great civilizations of South and Central America had gathered large amounts of gold and silver, which the Spanish took.

Rise of the Sugar Rise of the Sugar Plantations Plantations

Europeans also found another way to grow rich from the Americas—sugar plantations. Plantations were farms designed to grow crops on a large scale. They required many laborers. Some historians call them the first factories.

Rise of the Sugar Rise of the Sugar Plantations Plantations

Europeans established sugar plantations in Brazil and on Caribbean islands, such as Jamaica, Barbados, and Cuba. As plantations made sugar more widely available, Europeans started to eat more candies, pastries, and other sweet things. Chocolate, which came from the Americas, became a special favorite. Europeans’ taste for sweets increased demand for sugar, which led to more plantations.

Producing Sugar Producing Sugar

Producing Sugar Producing Sugar Although sugar tasted sweet, producing it was bitter, hard work. Sugarcane grew only in the hottest climates and had to be hand planted and hand cut. At harvest time, workers cut the canes, crushed them with large millstones, and boiled the juice into molasses or sugar. They often worked 20-hour days to process the harvest.

Sugar plantations were deadly places. Many people died from heat and exhaustion. Others were killed in accidents. Owners of the first sugar plantations enslaved natives and forced them to do the work. Soon, however, the natives died out or escaped so plantation owners turned to enslaved Africans. Many sugar plantations were so profitable that a plantation owner could afford to buy a group of slaves, work them to death, and then buy a new group to replace them. The switch to a workforce of enslaved Africans paved the way for slavery to spread further into North America.

Growth of the Slave Trade Growth of the Slave Trade

The growing number of sugar plantations created new demand for laborers. Many African rulers took advantage of this new slave market. Most African leaders did not sell their own people. Instead, they gave traders shell money and allowed them to travel to key slave markets where they could buy African captives. Some Africans were also kidnapped and enslaved by both Africans and Europeans. Growing numbers of slave-trading ships left the ports of Kongo and other kingdoms carrying human cargo to the New World. By the early 1600s, more than one million enslaved Africans lived in the Americas.

The Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange

When Europeans reached the Americas, they found a treasure trove of new foods. Tomatoes, corn, chocolate, beans, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peanuts were all native to the Americas. When these new products made their way to the Old World, they transformed diets in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Europeans also brought new things to the Americas. Many of these had been acquired through earlier trading encounters with Africa and Asia. Rice, sugar, pigs, and horses were among the most important. Native Americans took quickly to horses, and groups, such as the Apache, Sioux, and Cheyenne, made them a vital part of their culture.

Old WorldOld World(Europe)(Europe)

New WorldNew World(America)(America)

FoodFood FoodFoodReligious BeliefsReligious Beliefs Religious BeliefsReligious Beliefs

ClothingClothing ClothingClothing

MusicMusic MusicMusic

ArtArt ArtArt

ChickenChickenOlive OilOlive OilWheatWheat

AnimalsAnimalsPigPig

CowCow

ChristianityChristianity MaizeMaizeBeansBeans

PineapplePineapple

SpiritualSpiritual

The Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange

Education

Transcript of The Columbian Exchange