Question 1 (Document-Based Question): 55 minutes
Suggested Reading period: 15 minutes
Suggested writing period: 40 minutes
Directions: Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been
edited for the purpose of this exercise. You are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and
planning and 45 minutes writing your answer.
Write your responses on the lined pages that follow the question.
In your response you should do the following:
·
State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.
·
Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the
documents.
·
Incorporate analysis of all, or all but one, of the documents into your argument.
·
Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: intended
audience, purpose, historical context, and/or point of view.
·
Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents
·
Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or
processes.
·
Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument,
connects it to a different historical context, or accounts for contradictory evidence on the topic.
1. Analyze the effects of the Columbian Exchange on early American society.
Document 1
Source: Journal entry of Bartolome de Las Casas, quoting Christopher Columbus, 1492
Weapons they have none, nor are acquainted with them, for I showed them swords
which they grasped by the blades, and cut themselves through ignorance. They
have no iron, their javelins being without it, and nothing more than sticks, though
some have fish-bones or other things at the ends. They are all of a good size and
stature, and handsomely formed. I saw some with scars of wounds upon their
bodies, and demanded by signs the of them; they answered me in the same way,
that there came people from the other islands in the neighborhood who
endeavored to make prisoners of them, and they defended themselves. I thought
then, and still believe, that these were from the continent.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 2
Source: Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. 2010. "The Columbian Exchange: A History of
Disease, Food, and Ideas." Journal of Economic Perspectives
The exchange not only brought gains, but also losses. European contact enabled the
transmission of diseases to previously isolated communities, which caused devastation
far exceeding that of even the Black Death in fourteenth-century Europe. Europeans
brought deadly viruses and bacteria, such as smallpox, measles, typhus, and cholera, for
which Native Americans had no immunity. On their return home, European sailors
brought syphilis to Europe. Although less deadly, the disease was known to have caused
great social disruption throughout the Old World.
Document 3
Source: Volume 1 of J.H. Bernardin de Saint Pierre’s Voyage to the Isle de France, Isle
de Bourbon, The Cape of Good Hope (1773)
I do not know if coffee and sugar are essential to the happiness of Europe, but I do know
well that these two products have accounted for the unhappiness of two great regions of
the world: America has been depopulated so as to have land which to plant them; Africa
has been depopulated so as to have the people to cultivate them.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 4
Source: Native American population estimate (1500-1620)
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 5
Alfred W. Crosby. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of
1492 (1972)
Cattle and horses were brought ashore in the early 1600s and found hospitable climate
and terrain in North America. Horses arrived in Virginia as early as 1620 and in
Massachusetts in 1629. Many wandered free with little more evidence of their connection
to humanity than collars with a hook at the bottom to catch on fences as they tried to leap
over them to get at crops. Fences were not for keeping livestock in, but for keeping
livestock out.
Document 6
Source: Journal Entry of Francisco Coronado, Spanish Conquistador, (1541)
There was not corn for food among them, but as I heard that there was some in
another valley called Senora, which I did not wish to disturb by force, I sent Melchior Diaz
with goods to exchange for it, so as to give this to the friendly Indians whom we brought
with us, & to some who had lost their animals along the way & had not been able to carry
the food which they had taken from Culiacan. By the favor of Our Lord, some little corn
was obtained by this trading, which relieved the friendly Indians and some Spaniards.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 7
Source:
"The Columbian Quincentenary: An Educational Opportunity" An official position
statement developed by National Council for the Social Studies, October 1991
Another significant feature of the United States is the fact that the nation and its citizens
are an integral part of a global society created by forces that began to unfold in 1492.
Geographically, the Eastern and Western Hemispheres were joined after millennia of
virtual isolation from one another. Economically, the growth of the modern global
economy was substantially stimulated by the bullion trade linking Latin America, Europe,
and Asia; the slave trade connecting Africa, Europe, and the Americas; and the fur trade
joining North America, western Europe, and Russia. Politically, the contemporary
worldwide international system was born in the extension of intra- European conflict into
the Western Hemisphere, the establishment of European colonies in the Americas, and
the accompanying intrusion of Europeans into the political affairs of Native Americans,
and the Native Americans' influence on the political and military affairs of European
states. Ecologically, the massive transcontinental exchange of plants, animals,
microorganisms, and natural resources initiated by the Spanish and Portuguese voyages
modified the global ecological system forever.
END OF DOCUMENTS FOR QUESTION 1
DBQ Notes
Prompt: Analyze the effects of the Columbian Exchange on early American society in the 1600s.
Scoring Notes
Thesis: Possible thesis statements should include one or more of the following elements.
● Analyzing the effects of diseases introduced by Europeans, such as smallpox, on the
Native American population.
● The effects of European livestock brought over to the Americas.
● How introduction and cultivation of new crops in the Americas stimulated the African
slave trade and affected the native population.
● The effects of new technology and weapons on the natives and their ability to defend
their land from Europeans.
● How the encounters between Europeans and the natives affected their rivalry for control
of the land and its resources.
Analysis of Documents
To earn full credit for analyzing the documents, responses must include one of the following for
a minimum of six of the documents: intended audience, historical context, purpose, or author’s
point of view. Some of the documents, such as secondary sources or charts, may not be able to
be analyzed in all of these ways. These analyses must be used to support the response’s
argument.
Examples of these analyses are as follows:
Document 1
Source: Journal entry of Bartolome de Las Casas, quoting Christopher Columbus, 1492
● Intended Audience: the people of Spain
● Historical Context: Christopher Columbus had just landed in the Americas and had his
first interactions with the natives, whose technology did not include iron or other such
European advancements.
● Purpose: To describe how undeveloped the natives were technologically, although they
did seem to have a strong fighting spirit.
● Author’s POV: Casas and Columbus, being European, had witnessed technology
advancing and thus were surprised when the natives had never even seen iron. Casas
was also an advocate for the better treatment of natives
Document 2
Source: Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. 2010. "The Columbian Exchange: A History of
Disease, Food, and Ideas." Journal of Economic Perspectives
● Intended Audience: those interested in the history of the Columbian Exchange; those
analyzing the consequences of the Columbian exchange
● Historical Context: N/A, it is a secondary source
● Purpose: to discuss the effects of the diseases Europeans brought on the natives
● Author’s POV: historians, not meant to be biased one way or another
Document 3
Source: Volume 1 of J.H. Bernardin de Saint Pierre’s Voyage to the Isle de France, Isle de
Bourbon, and the Cape of Good Hope, 1773
● Intended Audience: Europeans
● Historical Context: These exchanges have been happening for decades, and people are
starting to see the effects
● Purpose: to explain how crops introduced to America accounted for the killing of Native
Americans and the introduction of African slaves
● Author’s POV: The author has seen these depopulations firsthand and does not approve
of how they are being handled
Document 4
Source:Native American population estimate (1500-1620)
● Intended Audience: Native image, other natives, Europeans associating with natives
● Historical Context: For Native image, the time was around when the natives began to die
in extreme numbers, disease was brought by the Europeans who first reached the
continent, natives still completely defenseless to disease
● Purpose: To demonstrate and warn the effect of the transferred diseases to the New
world
● Author’s POV: In the image of diseased Native Americans, they were showing how the
disease was destroying their people
Document 5
Source: Alfred W. Crosby. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of
1492 (1972)
●
●
●
●
Intended Audience: Students, historians, Americans,
Historical Context: Enough time has passed since the diseases that historians are
comfortable analyzing the impacts unbiasedly
Purpose: To give background on the beginning of European domesticated livestock in
America, to give examples of differences with modern agriculture
Author’s POV: As a historian and writer, the observations were made holistically and
without direct experience of the subject matter
Document 6
Source: Journal Entry of Francisco Coronado, Spanish Conquistador, (1541)
● Intended Audience: The financiers of the expedition back in Spain
● Historical Context: The Spanish had been exploring the Americas for circa 50 years,
and had made some minor alliances, 3 years before Coronado was tried for war crimes
● Purpose: To demonstrate that the Natives weren’t entirely outcasted by the Spaniards
and that they could occasionally work together
● Author’s POV: European, biased that natives are primitive and uncivilized. Had been
exploring the Americas for approximately 1-2 years; thinks of himself as fair to natives,
but actually one of the most brutal
Document 7:
Source: "The Columbian Quincentenary: An Educational Opportunity" An official position
statement developed by National Council for the Social Studies, October 1991
● Intended Audience: Educators and students of American and European history
● Historical Context: N/A, Secondary Source
● Purpose: To explain the ways the opening of various trades cycles with North America
altered the rest of the world, including economically, geographically, ecologically, and
politically
● Author’s POV: As a historian, the author has an objective view of all the changes and
writes unbiased facts; also has complete access to all of the data and facts of the era
Outside Evidence
Possible outside sources used to support the argument includes:
● The conquistadors (e.g. Francisco Pizarro, Hernando de Soto) and their discovery of
gold and silver in South and Central America, which led to battles for control of the
native’s land
● Hernando Cortés (also a conquistador) and his army of 600 men, who defeated
Montezuma and his people with the help of smallpox
● Columbus enslaving the native peoples to search for gold
● The conquistadors had early firearms or muskets, and while they were not actually used
in battle due to being slow and cumbersome, the technology was new and mysterious to
the natives, frightening them
● Europeans re-introduced horses to the Americas, which not only became an important
part of Native American life, but also helped conquistadors win battles against the
natives by having the advantage of speed and height
● the Middle Passage
● Specific European crops that were introduced: coffee beans, olives, citrus fruits,
bananas, sugar cane, wheat, rice, oats, barley, grapes, etc. Imported for Europeans’
own use, but natives began to cultivate these crops and they eventually became staples
of their own diets, esp. coffee, bananas, and sugar.
● Specific livestock introduced: cattle, sheep, pigs, horses. Similar to crops, natives raised
these animals for their own benefit, greatly increasing the number of domesticated
animals in the Americas.
● Specific diseases introduced aside from smallpox: influenza, typhus, measles, malaria
● How the need for a hardier source of human labor was sought after (the natives were
being killed off by diseases), leading to slaves being imported from Africa for their
strength and hardiness.
Contextualization
● Europe was not only expanding into America, but also Africa, and Asia.
●
●
●
Many advancements were being made in technology in Europe, giving them a renewed
interest in expansion and exploration.
There was a need for new crops in Europe, so the introduction of American crops was
an important point made in discovering new ways to farm and new crops to farm
The trading of European goods for gold and even stealing gold was largely do to the rise
of mercantilism in the world, making every government want as much “bullion”, gold and
silver, as they could get
●
Synthesis
● Led to further European expansion throughout the Americas.
● Native Americans were treated poorly by the Europeans and looked down upon due to
their lack of technological advancements.
● Transference of culture between Europeans and natives is similar to transference of
culture between immigrants and Americans from different regions of the world
● The outbreak of smallpox was similar to the “White Plague” of tuberculosis in the large
cities of America during the late 1800’s, although on a much larger scale
● Manifest Destiny was a time when Americans expanded West because they believed
that they had a God Given right; during this time they displaced many natives and took
their land for almost nothing, killing many more natives
● The discovery of gold in the west triggered the movement of many Americans through
native land in search of gold in places like California and Colorado
● Displacement of natives onto reservations until gold was found, like in the Black Hills
● Ongoing conflicts between the natives and Americans, like Custer’s last stand or
Wounded Knee Massacre
Sample Essay
With the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492 came the
establishment of a massive trade system between the Americas, Europe, and Africa, known as
the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange drastically changed the Americas by way of
what was traded. Some new crops and livestock brought over from Europe became staples in the
natives’ lives, but this exchange also had negative effects, such as the beginning of the slave
trade. Furthermore, the Europeans did not get along well with the natives, using their more
advanced technology to take over the natives’ land and enslave them. There were unforeseen
consequences as well, such as the introduction of deadly diseases to the Americas, which caused
a near genocide of the natives.
One main aspect of the Columbian Exchange was the introduction of new crops that soon
became integrated into the Native Americans’ diets. European crops such as wheat, olives, citrus
fruits, bananas, coffee, and sugar cane were transferred to the Americas. While several of these
became staples of the native's diets, such as sugar and coffee, their introduction caused severe
depopulation of the Americas, due to the great need for land to grow them (Doc 3). By the time
Saint Pierre made this statement in 1773, this moving of natives for farmland had been
happening for decades. Saint Pierre also implies that Africa was depopulated due to the need for
slaves. The Native Americans were not hardy enough to cultivate these crops with the new threat
of smallpox, so Europeans resorted to importing slaves from Africa since they were more
resistant to these diseases. Thus, the Middle Passage was born. However, not all introductions to
the Americas were harmful; the horses and cattle reintroduced to America were prosperous (Doc
5). The horses became crucial to many native's lifestyles, such as those who roamed in the Great
Plains hunting for bison. On the other hand, though, horses gave conquistadors the advantage of
height and speed while battling the natives. Overall, the livestock turned out to be a healthy
exchange to the Americas, as beef and pork became staples in the American diet.
While the Europeans may have had good intentions in transferring new crops and
livestock to the Americas, they did not intend to share the land with the natives. according to the
National Council for Social Studies, they travelled to the Americas to form colonies, not
alliances, thus interfering with the personal lives of the Native Americans (Doc 7). Throughout
the Americas, the Spanish conquistadors overran villages and cities, taking the natives prisoner
and forcing them to farm. Conquistadors such as Hernando de Soto and Francisco Pizarro had
heard about the gold and silver in the Americas, leading them to enslave natives into searching
for this bullion; it was especially valued at the time due to the idea of mercantilism, which
emphasized bullion as being crucial to a country’s wealth and success. Conquistador Francisco
Coronado claimed to have assisted some hungry Native Americans by giving them some food,
contradicting the other conquistadors and their pillaging ways (Doc 6). However, Coronado was
actually one of the most brutal conquistadors; even his fellow Spaniards considered him
especially cruel. He believed the natives did not deserve life under any circumstances. The
Europeans’ had more advanced technology than the Native Americans, as demonstrated by
Christopher Columbus’s encounter with the natives in which he describes them cutting
themselves on an iron blade, having never seen one before (Doc 1). Technology such as this that
was unknown to the natives allowed the Europeans to have an advantage when battling them.
Early firearms, while still unwieldy in battle, struck fear into the natives, as some believed the
Europeans could create thunder with these “sticks.”
In spite of the positive changes new crops and animals made to the lifestyle of the Native
Americans, diseases such as smallpox and measles that the Spanish unintentionally carried with
them wiped out most of the natives. As shown by a chart, between 1519 and 1605, the native
population dropped from 25 to only 1 million (Doc 4). The extent of this destruction is described
by Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian, who declared that the damage of these diseases was even
greater than that of the Black Death in Europe (Doc 2). The Black Death killed hundreds of
millions of people, so this comparison puts in perspective just how ravaging these diseases were.
Not only did these diseases kill many natives, but they also assisted the Europeans in killing
more natives. While conquistador Hernando Cortes and his men may not have been able to
overthrow Montezuma on the first attempt, they managed to spread smallpox, allowing Cortes to
easily overrun the native peoples on the second try. From the natives’ perspective, an image
shows the effect of smallpox on their own people (Doc 4). They were afraid of the devastation
European diseases brought, and their medicine was not advanced enough to cure it, allowing the
disease to take control of helpless Native American society.
The invasion of outsiders into native affairs returned when America, like Europe, saw it
fit to expand their land holdings in the idea of Manifest Destiny. Reminiscent of the times of the
conquistadors and the Columbian Exchange, Americans moved west, displacing the Native
Americans once again to make room for more farmland. Gold also became a factor again, and
events like the California Gold Rush saw Americans travelling through native land in search of
these riches. Native Americans were put in increasingly smaller reservations, only to be moved
again when gold was discovered there, such as in the sacred Black Hills. Resistance continued
and battles between outsiders and the natives went on until bloody events like the Wounded
Knee Massacre occurred. Just like these later happenings, the Columbian Exchange saw battles
between the outside Europeans and the Native Americans, along with the introduction of new
crops, livestock, and diseases to the Americas and their society.