The consequences of the Spanish conquest of the Americas
Goods
Disease
Slavery
Globalization
Overview The introduction of goods to Europe and America had a large impact on the societies then and today. From America came goods that largely impacted the culture of European countries. They were things such as tobacco, pumpkin, squash, cacao, peanut , peppers, vanilla, beans, sweet potato, turkey, corn, tomatoes and slaves. From Europe to America came the coffee beans, peach, pear, olives, citrus fruits, bananas, sugar cane, honeybees, onion, turnips, livestock (cattle, sheep, horses, and, pigs) Grains (wheat, rice, and barley) diseases, grapes and slaves.
Overview
Diseases were a large and important part of the Spanish conquest. It was the main reason for the large decline in the Aztec and other indigenous populations and there were also diseases that were carried over from America, but the main impact was made on the indigenous populations for the reason that their bodies were not accustomed to diseases and it was easily spread throughout the population and it easily broke down their immune system the diseases included in this epidemic were smallpox, influenza, whooping cough, typhus, mumps and measles
Short term impacts There were immediate effects on Europe when the Colombian exchange took place, especially due to the change in diet for Europeans. One of the big changes was in the nutritional value of their diet, the new world products were generally more nutritional than old world foods. Another quality that new world foods had over old was the caloric quantity (meaning quantity in calories). The abundance in caloric foods meant both healthier diets and that meals could feed more people. In Ireland, potatoes were introduced and became a staple food, in this period, the Irish flourished due to their diets. Some Irish workers even ate up to 10 potatoes a day. Overall the diets in Europe became healthier
Long term impacts Some of the delicacies we know and enjoy today would not exist if not for the introduction of goods into Europe. Many of the foods or dishes that we associate with European countries were only possible to have because of the introduction of goods from America to Europe. Dishes like pizza would not have been possible without the introduction of tomatoes, as well as some pasta sauces. Another snack that we associate with Europe is Belgian chocolate. Without the introduction of the cacao bean, this would never have been possible
Short term impacts There were many short term impacts on the world at the time because of these diseases. The most obvious being that these diseases were the most impacting factor on the decline in the population of the Aztecs. 90% of the population died off due to due to smallpox, and those who survived were vulnerable to other diseases because of severe undernourishment. Because of these diseases, the great American civilizations were virtually destroyed. It did not have as big an impact on Europe because, Europeans lived in closer quarters and diseases were rife throughout Europe, therefore Europeans were less affected by American diseases such as Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that had serious consequences in Europe.
Long term impacts
Some of the affects of these disease still exist today. One of the obvious impacts that still exists is the absence of indigenous populations in America. The culling of indigenous populations also meant that the area in which they lived and its people (modern day mexico) was never allowed to flourish. Diseases were the main reason for the fall of the great empires of the Americas. If not for these diseases, it is possible that there would be severe culture and society differences in America. Also, if not for these diseases, we could of seen a massive population difference in Mexico, seeing as these diseases were responsible for around 90% of the indigenous populations
Short term impacts Blacks were shipped across the Atlantic and listed to help, while Aztecs were forced to work in their own land. Either way, they worked under hard slave drivers, and were severely mistreated. For the Aztecs, this meant that they were more prone to disease because of the condition that they were in, many of them also died from mining incidents and diseases that were contracted during the course of mining. Because of the labour needed in the early New world settlements, Africans were packed onto ships and shipped to America, this created high death rates, and the contracting of diseases among the working population
Long term impacts There were many long term impacts of the early slave trade. The early ships that crossed the Atlantic did not stop till hundreds of years later. It established a theme of racism among the early American colonies and created a reliance on black slaves, obviously we now know this as racism. Many coloured peoples of America are discriminated to this day, although the slave trade died out in the 1900's. Another lasting impact was obviously the culling of the indigenous population.
Overview The slave trade was an unavoidable consequence of the Spanish conquest, the conquistadors needed labour, and the Aztecs were under their control, easy fix was to enslave them. The origin of the slave trade in the Americas was the sugar cane plantations in the Caribbean. Sugar cane was a popular crop and was extremely easy to grow, therefore it was grown in massive quantities and needed labour to manage. Another need for labour was the silver and gold buried deep within the mountains surrounding Tenochtitlan, when the Spanish discovered this, they enlisted much of the population to mining. At this point in time, mining was extremely dangerous, and many Aztecs died because of these incidents, not to mention that they were underfed and mistreated. Slaves were also shipped across the Atlantic from the West coast of Africa, which, at that time, had a thriving slave trade among whites.
Short term impacts In the short term after the Spanish conquest, the Americas truly became the new world. It became a booming Spanish colony, and in the following years, the colony spread north in to what we now know as the USA. The nutritious foods and space to colonise led to more fertility and a population boom. The increased migration also led to different trade routes that appeared around the world, this increased the spread of new ideas and cultures. In the initial aftermath of the Spanish conquest, there were more Spaniards and African slaves than there were natives. This also led to a wider knowledge of belief systems and different cultures.
Long term impacts Globalization is part of the world that we know today, every country, city and province is interconnected. This started with the connecting of the old world to the new; the Spanish conquest. Globalization was the overall result of the colombian exchange and it entailed many things: trade routes, population boom, spread of beliefs and ideas, and overall spread of culture. The world that we know today would not have been possible without the Spanish conquest. But of course, there were many negative consequences of the Spanish. Some, such as the slave trade and diseases, have already been covered. But things such as increased poverty were massive factors in the world now. The Colombian exchange was both good and bad in what it did the world, but undoubtedly, we could not be living in the same world we know without it.
Overview After the Spanish conquest, and the defeat of the Aztecs, many were encouraged to migrate and set up work and homes there. Obviously, the slave trade was a large factor in the increased number of cultures that started to populate the Americas. It started to become a central hub of the world's focus. In the immediate few years after the Spanish conquest, 240,000 Spaniards moved to the Americas to set up there lives, in the following century, 500,000 moved.
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slavery & goods
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slaves were some of the many goods that came from the old world to the new
goods like cattle could carry diseases, also, the crew that brought goods over often carried diseases