1 gen 1492 anni - Beginning of the Columbian Exchange

Descrizione:

The Columbian Exchange began with the "discovery" of the Americas in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. Around this time, European sailing technology had been becoming more efficient with the invention of caravels (small, fast ships well-suited for the ocean), lateen sails (triangular sails which allowed for easier mobility and direction change), astrolabes (which allowed sailors to track their latitude), and compasses. Columbus first came into contact with the Taino people who lived in modern-day Hispaniola, but disease and mistreatment eventually caused the almost complete destruction of their society.

The Columbian Exchange itself was a series of trade networks going between the Americas and Europe. Some items that were commonly traded included cattle, grains, fruit, as well as different kinds of disease. Populations in Afro-Eurasia benefited nutritionally because of this trade, and the networks resulted in a shift from transatlantic to transoceanic trade. Silver also became a very important resource which was prized especially in places such as Ming China; however an overmining of silver eventually led to the decline of the Spanish economy.

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