Question

PART 2- Short Essays- Answer 3 of the following questions. Each answer should be about 1 page (250- 400 words) in length. Use specific historical examples to support your answers. (8 points each)

1. Discuss the impact of the Columbian Exchange on Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

2. What were the political aspects of the Reformation?

3. What were “trading post empires”, and why were they significant for transforming European society?

4. In what ways did the development of the Atlantic economy spur the growth of the African slave trade?

5. In what ways did European exploration and colonization impact established Native American societies in the 16th to 18th centuries?

Answer 1

ANSWER 1:

The Columbian exchange was a global trade exchange between the New World and the Old World countries. Silver metal and new animals like the horses were introduced in America as a form of this trade. The traded items included plants, animals, grains and other food items brought from Europe. Europe became wealthy while the grains brought to America killed many native citizens due to the disease spread by eating those exchanged grains such as the wheat, rye, barley etc. The tragic impact included the epidemics like smallpox, yellow fever, influenza, malaria, mumps, and measles. The native Americans were not resistant to these diseases and a major epidemic killed many people in Cherokee. Europeans had a stronger immunity and were therefore resistant to these diseases. However, it proved to be tragic for the New World countries and their population was resultantly decreased to a great extent. African population did not get affected by these diseases. Africa saw a major demographic change due to its population being used for slavery. The global trade proved out to be a slave trade for Africa.

ANSWER 2:

The political aspects of the Reformation are as follows:

• Division of Europe
• Protestant Reformation introduced pilgrim fathers
• Laws of land were initiated
• Arousal of political conflicts

ANSWER 3:

Trading post empires and their significance-

These were the 50 trading territories built by Portuguese to control the trade routes. They gained their share by forcing the trader to pay the duty fairs for travel and trade through the commercial expansion. Europe earned a lot of wealth and dominance from this. Europe thus began to control the trade via Indian ocean.