Question

Evaluate the relative importance of the consequences of increased trade in the Atlantic Ocean from 1450-1750.

Answer 1

The Atlantic trading system involved labor movement — including enslaved persons — and the mixing of African, American, and European cultures and peoples, contributing to this cultural synthesis among all parties.

The emerging Eastern and Western Hemispheres relations culminated in the introduction of new plants, animals , and diseases, known as the Columbian Exchange. The European colonization of the Americas has resulted in the involuntary transfer of disease vectors, including mosquitoes and rats, and the spread of endemic diseases in the Eastern Hemisphere, including smallpox , measles and malaria. Any of these diseases reduced the indigenous populations drastically, with devastating consequences in many regions. American foods have become a staple crop in various parts of Europe , Asia and Africa. Cash crops were grown mainly on coerced-labor plantations and mostly exported to Europe and the middle east

The commercial routes which emerged in the Atlantic Ocean during this period were collectively known as the Great Circuit. The routes connected four continents: North America, South America, Europe , and Africa, and were directly linked to the old water-trade routes established in previous eras. The Atlantic routes were generally circular and complex, with most ships on at least two of the continents making several stops along the way, but sometimes more. Since its earliest days, these huge circuits represent the most significant change in long-distance commerce.

The Columbian Exchange is regarded as the cross-cultural exchange that formed along the Great Circuit, giving credit to the man who unwittingly began the whole thing. The Columbian Exchange included a vast number of products that changed the world's diets and work habits. The goods traded in accordance with this pattern generally: Europe to the Americas-horses, goats , pigs, wheat , rice, cane sugar, melons, raisins
Africa to the Americas (includes Asian products)-bananas, coconut palms, coffee, sugar cane, goats, chickens
The Americas to Europe and Africa-corn , rice, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, beans, peppers, cigarettes, chocolate