European Age of Discovery
Impact
Expansion into Americas, Africa, and Asia
Migration, Settlement patterns, cultural diffusion and
social classes in colonized areas
Columbian Exchange
Triangular trade
Impact of precious metal exports from the Americas on
Europe.
Impact of Africa and Asia
• Africa
– Europeans trading posts
along the coast
– Trade in slaves, gold, and
other resources
• Asia
– Colonization by small
groups of merchants in
India, the Indies, and China
– Influence of trading
companies (Portuguese,
Dutch, and British).
Impacts of the Americas
• Expansion of overseas
territorial claims and
European emigration to
North and South America
• Demise of Aztec and Inca
Empires
• Legacy of a rigid class
system and dictatorial rule
in Latin America
• Forced migration of Africans
who had been enslaved
• Colonies imitation of the
culture and social patterns
of their parent countries
Impacts on the Americas
• Demise of Aztec and
Inca Empires due to
conquest and diseases
from the Old World.
• Cortez – Conquered the
Aztec Civilization in
what is today Mexico
• Pizarro – Conquered the
Incan Civilization in
what is today Peru and
Chile in the Andes
Mountains
Latin America: Legacy of a rigid class
system and dictatorial rule in Latin
Peninsulares-white, born in Spain
America
Creoles- white, born in colony
Mestizos- white + native Indian
Mulattos- white + African
Native Indians
African slaves
Review
• What European country was responsible for
conquering the Aztecs and Incas?
– Answer: Spain
• What European religion would probably have
been spread the most in Latin America?
– Answer: Roman Catholic
• The rigid class system in Latin America setup
by the Spanish lead to today a legacy of what?
– Answer: Dictatorial Rule
Columbian Exchange
• Western Hemisphere agricultural products, such as corn, potatoes,
and tobacco, changed European lifestyles.
• European horses and cattle changed the lifestyles of American
Indians.
• European diseases, such as smallpox, killed many American Indians
Impact of the Columbian Exchange
• Shortage of labor to grow
cash crops led to the use
of African slaves
• Slavery was based on race
• European plantation
system in the Caribbean
and the Americas
destroyed indigenous
economics and damaged
the environment.
Triangular Trade
• Trade routes that linked Europe, Africa, and Americas.
• Slaves, sugar, rum and manufactured goods were trade
between the continents.
Impact of Precious Metals
• Gold and silver
exported to Europe and
Asia
• Impact on indigenous
empires of the
Americas
• Impact on Spain and
International trade.
Review
• Which products went FROM THE NEW WORLD to
the old world due to the Columbian Exchange?
– Answer: Corn, tobacco, potatoes, and gold
• Which products went FROM THE OLD WORLD to
the New World due to the Columbian exchange?
– Answer: Horses, Cattle, Christianity and Diseases such
as Smallpox
• Why couldn’t Europeans use Native Americans as
a source for labor on plantations?
– Answer: Disease such as Smallpox