USA HISTORY

FIRST CONTACTS 28000 BCE 1821 CE

THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Which of these had both positive and negative effects on the natives of the Americas?
A
Smallpox
B
Horses
C
Slavery
D
Corn
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -What had both positive and negative effects on the natives of the Americas? Immunity from smallpox and the flu. What would have best prepared Native Americans for the challenges of the Columbian Exchange? African slaves were needed to work on sugarcane plantations.

Detailed explanation-2: -The spread of disease. Possibly the most dramatic, immediate impact of the Columbian Exchange was the spread of diseases. In places where the local population had no or little resistance, especially the Americas, the effect was horrific. Prior to contact, indigenous populations thrived across North and South America.

Detailed explanation-3: -In terms of benefits the Columbian Exchange only positively affected the lives of the Europeans. They gained many things such as, crops, like maize and potatoes, land in the Americas, and slaves from Africa. On the other hand the negative impacts of the Columbian Exchange are the spread of disease, death, and slavery.

Detailed explanation-4: -When the Europeans arrived, carrying germs which thrived in dense, semi-urban populations, the indigenous people of the Americas were effectively doomed. They had never experienced smallpox, measles or flu before, and the viruses tore through the continent, killing an estimated 90% of Native Americans.

There is 1 question to complete.