ECONOMICS (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -As Europeans traversed the Atlantic, they brought with them plants, animals, and diseases that changed lives and landscapes on both sides of the ocean. These two-way exchanges between the Americas and Europe/Africa are known collectively as the Columbian Exchange.

Detailed explanation-2: -Raw materials like precious metals (gold and silver), tobacco, sugar and cotton went from the Americas to Europe. Manufactured goods like cloth and metal items went to Africa and the Americas. Finally, slaves went from Africa to the Americas to work. This trade created great profits for Europe.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Columbian Exchange-the interchange of plants, animals, disease, and technology sparked by Columbus’s voyages to the New World-marked a critical point in history. It allowed ecologies and cultures that had previously been separated by oceans to mix in new and unpredictable ways.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Columbian exchange is a term coined by Alfred Crosby Jr. in 1972 that is traditionally defined as the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World of Europe and Africa and the New World of the Americas.