The trade routes that were established between the Americas and Europe became known as the ‘Columbian Exchange’. Plants, animals (and diseases!) and technology crossed the oceans. For example, tomatoes, now popular in Italian dishes, were unknown in Europe before being brought from the New World. Other new plants included: • potatoes • corn
• tobacco • bananas • coffee beans.
New Spain was governed by the ‘ encomienda system’, established in 1521 to manage the indigenous people. Spanish conquistadors received land and workers, who paid tributes in exchange for protection and conversion to Christianity. They aimed to ‘civilise’ the natives, but it often turned into little more than forced labour and land theft, leading to the displacement of the people. The Spanish also spread diseases against which the indigenous people had no immunity, resulting in high death rates. At the same time, the Spanish tried to establish trade routes with the East Indies (modern-day South- East Asia). Travelling west across the Pacific Ocean offered a faster route than the previous long journey around Africa. A Spanish settlement in the Philippines was set up in 1565, creating a busy trade route. Goods like silk, spices, silver and slaves were transported from Asia to the Americas and then to Europe.
SkillBuilder discussion Communicating 1. Look carefully at SOURCE3. What types of crops are shown as being exchanged from the Americas to Europe? 2. Which animals are listed as being transported from Europe to the Americas? 3. What body of water is between North America and Europe?
SOURCE3 The Columbian Exchange brought items like tomatoes to Italy and coffee to Brazil.
Arctic Circle
EUROPE
NORTH
AMERICA
Bananas
Beans
Cacao (chocolate)
Cattle
Chickens
Maize (corn)
Citrus fruits
Peanuts
Coffee beans
ATLANTIC
Pineapples
Grapes
Tropic of Cancer
Potatoes
Horses
OCEAN
Pumpkins
Onions
Squash
Peaches
Sweet potatoes
Pigs
Rice
Tobacco
Equator
Sugarcane
Tomatoes
Turkeys
Wheat
AFRICA
Tropic of Capricorn
0 1000
2000 3000
SOUTH
kilometres
AMERICA
Source: Map drawn by Spatial Vision.
138 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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