FIRST CONTACTS 28000 BCE 1821 CE
THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Increased their populations and improved their health
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Lowered their life spans and health
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Either A or B
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -The spud that could: potatoes and populations Crops from the Americas saved millions of people in Afro-Eurasia from starvation. The extra nutrition provided by potatoes, maize (corn), and other American crops caused the world’s population to rise after 1500.
Detailed explanation-2: -They were initially popular in Spain because they provided cheap sustenance for the poor. It wasn’t long before they were in demand throughout the continent as a food that was easy to grow and highly nutritious. Today, potatoes are a staple for people all over Europe.
Detailed explanation-3: -The potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peppers, cassava and other plants native to the Americas did more than enliven the cook pots of Europe, Africa and Asia. They transformed cultures, reshuffled politics and spawned new economic systems that then, in a globalizing feedback loop, took root back in the New World, as well.
Detailed explanation-4: -It helped to improve diets by providing much needed nutrition and calories (Nunn & Qian, 2010). Crosby (1972) writes, “Few other plants produce so much carbohydrate, sugar, and fat” (p. 171). Maize was a food source from the New World that brought a change to the diets of Europeans.