![]() Some of the people who entered America from Asia before the land bridge disappeared might have carried Old World pathogens (bacteria or viruses causing disease). The greatest weakness of New World peoples, however, proved to be their lack of resistance against Old World diseases. Some knew about the wheel, but since they had no horses, donkeys, mules, or oxen, they never developed wheeled vehicles. How did the Spanish and other Europeans so easily conquer America when huge numbers of potentially hostile people outnumbered them? Although they were superior farmers, the peoples of the New World lagged far behind the Spanish in technology. Early reports indicate that Hispaniola alone held a million Taino Indians. Possibly more people lived in the New World in 1492 than in Europe. Recent studies lean to the high end of this range. ![]() Why Did Europeans Conquer America So Easily?Įstimates of the population of the Western Hemisphere before Columbus generally range between 30 and 100 million people. Crosby called this global enterprise the “Columbian Exchange.” As a result, both the Old and New Worlds were changed. Thus, in 1493, Columbus began a process of swapping Old and New World plants and animals along with stowaway pests, weeds, and germs. Horses had actually originated in America, spread to the Eastern Hemisphere over the land bridge, and then became extinct in their homeland. In addition, he transported live pigs, cattle, chickens, sheep, goats, and horses, none of which lived in the New World. He brought seeds and cuttings for Old World vegetables, wheat, grapevines, sugarcane, and fruit trees. Of even greater long-term significance were the plants and animals that Columbus carried in the holds of his ships. He used this news as justification to take Taino slaves. Columbus discovered the Taino had killed all the men he had left at Navidad. On his second voyage in 1493, Columbus returned to America with 17 ships and 1,300 men, including several Catholic priests to convert the Taino to Christianity. Columbus declared at the end of his report that in the future he could bring the king and queen gold, spices, cotton, and slaves.Īt first, Columbus thought he had reached the Indies, islands off the southeast coast of Asia, and called the people he encountered “Indians.” In fact, Columbus had made a connection between the two hemispheres for the first time in 10,000 years. “They still think I come from heaven,” he wrote with amazement. He left about 40 of his men there and headed back to Spain with astounding news.Īboard ship, Columbus wrote a report of his discoveries: “I discovered a great many islands inhabited by people without number, and of them all I have taken possession on behalf of Their Highnesses.” He described strange trees, fruits, birds, and “beautiful thick soil.”Ĭolumbus described the Taino people as “very good looking,” but “unbelievably fearful.” They had no iron or steel and only bows and arrows for weapons. Columbus noted the Taino possessed small objects made of gold, which they mined on the island.Ĭolumbus established a settlement on Hispaniola, Villa de la Navidad, the first European outpost in America. The Spanish and Taino traded and enjoyed friendly relations. ![]() On Hispaniola, Columbus found the Taino, a people who grew crops he had never seen before, such as sweet potatoes, manioc, peanuts, and tobacco. Columbus explored several nearby islands, including a large one the Spanish called Hispaniola, shared today by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. ![]() The two hemispheres took separate biological and cultural paths.Ĭhristopher Columbus, an Italian sailing for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, landed his three ships on an island in the Caribbean in 1492. They could have traveled by foot across a land bridge, by small boats along the bridge coastline, or by both methods.Ībout 10,000 years ago, the sea level rose, submerging the land connection between the two hemispheres. Humans from Asia probably first entered the Western Hemisphere between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago. The resulting swap of Old and New World germs, animals, plants, peoples, and cultures has been called the “Columbian Exchange.” In 1492, Columbus brought the Eastern and Western Hemispheres back together. Are We Headed for a “Sixth Mass Extinction”? | The Columbian Exchange | What Caused Egypt’s Old Kingdom to Collapse? ![]()
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