AMSCO US History Topic 1.4 Columbian Exchange
Learning Objective – Explain the causes of Columbian Exchange and its effect on Europe and the
Americas during and after 1492.
- Columbian Exchange – transatlantic trade in animals, plants, and germs
Purpose for sailing west: to find a sea route to Asia without having to go overland or sail around Africa.
Christopher Columbus
- Changing economic, political, and social conditions in Europe combined to support new efforts
to expand. Exploration was supported by
o Improvements in Shipbuilding
o Better compasses
o Better mapmaking
- Plans to Reach Asia
o Columbus
Italian, born in city-state of Genoa
Had the plan to continually sail west toward Asia.
**Contrary to popular belief, most people believed the world was round
**They just believed the world was a lot smaller; no knowledge of the
Western Hemisphere
Spent 8 years seeking financial support to commission his trip
o 1492 – Isabella and Ferdinand back Columbus
Three ships
Columbus would be governor, admiral, and viceroy of all the lands he would
claim for Spain
o August – sets sail from Spain
o September 6 – launches from Canary Islands
o October 12 – reached an island in the Bahamas
o Three following trips were disappointing
Little gold
Few spices
No simple path to China or India
The Columbian Exchange
- Contact between Europe and the Americas
o Prior, both were vastly different cultures
o More specific definition – a transfer of plants, animals, and germs from one side of the
Atlantic to the other
o Exchanges permanently changed the entire world
Biological exchanges
Cultural exchanges
Learning Objective – Explain the causes of Columbian Exchange and its effect on Europe and the
Americas during and after 1492.
- Columbian Exchange – transatlantic trade in animals, plants, and germs
Purpose for sailing west: to find a sea route to Asia without having to go overland or sail around Africa.
Christopher Columbus
- Changing economic, political, and social conditions in Europe combined to support new efforts
to expand. Exploration was supported by
o Improvements in Shipbuilding
o Better compasses
o Better mapmaking
- Plans to Reach Asia
o Columbus
Italian, born in city-state of Genoa
Had the plan to continually sail west toward Asia.
**Contrary to popular belief, most people believed the world was round
**They just believed the world was a lot smaller; no knowledge of the
Western Hemisphere
Spent 8 years seeking financial support to commission his trip
o 1492 – Isabella and Ferdinand back Columbus
Three ships
Columbus would be governor, admiral, and viceroy of all the lands he would
claim for Spain
o August – sets sail from Spain
o September 6 – launches from Canary Islands
o October 12 – reached an island in the Bahamas
o Three following trips were disappointing
Little gold
Few spices
No simple path to China or India
The Columbian Exchange
- Contact between Europe and the Americas
o Prior, both were vastly different cultures
o More specific definition – a transfer of plants, animals, and germs from one side of the
Atlantic to the other
o Exchanges permanently changed the entire world
Biological exchanges
Cultural exchanges
