Key Concept 1.2

European overseas expansion resulted in the Columbian Exchange, a series of interactions and adaptations among societies across the Atlantic.

I. The arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in the 15th and 16th centuries triggered extensive demographic and social changes on both sides of the Atlantic.

• Spanish and Portuguese exploration and conquest of the Americas led to widespread deadly epidemics, the emergence of racially mixed populations, and a caste system defined by an intermixture among Spanish settlers, Africans, and Native Americans.
  • smallpox, Mestizo, Zambo
• Spanish and Portuguese traders reached West Africa and partnered with some African groups to exploit local resources and recruit slave labor for the Americas.
• The introduction of new crops and livestock by the Spanish had far-reaching effects on native settlement patterns, as well as on economic, social, and political development in the Western Hemisphere.
  • horses, cows
• In the economies of the Spanish colonies, Indian labor, used in the encomienda system to support plantation-based agriculture and extract precious metals and other resources, was gradually replaced by African slavery.
  • sugar, silver

II. European expansion into the Western Hemisphere caused intense social/religious, political, and economic competition in Europe and the promotion of empire building.

• European exploration and conquest were fueled by a desire for new sources of wealth, increased power and status, and converts to Christianity.
• New crops from the Americas stimulated European population growth, while new sources of mineral wealth facilitated the European shift from feudalism to capitalism.
  • corn, potatoes
• Improvements in technology and more organized methods for conducting international trade helped drive changes to economies in Europe and the Americas
  • sextant, joint-stock companies