4.8 Continuity and Change

• Who identified the Columbian Exchange in 1986?

  Alfred Crosby
• By 1750, what was the state of the world in terms of economic, political, and cultural connections?

  Most of the world was integrated within a system of connections.
• What enabled the connection between the Eastern and Western hemispheres?

  Better technology
• Which regions did Western European maritime powers create trading empires in?

  Indian Ocean trading network and the Americas
• What happened to religions and cultural practices as a result of interactions during this period?

  They spread and transformed into new or syncretic forms.
• What type of labor systems continued to exist in the newly connected world?

  Coercive labor systems
• What was the most significant change to the global economy from 1450 to 1750?

  The integration of the Western Hemisphere into the global trading network.
• What motivated Western European states to find a sea route to Asia?

  The desire for trade and economic gain.
• What technologies were borrowed and developed to facilitate ocean travel?

  • Astronomical charts
  • Astrolabe
  • Compass
  • Magnetic compass
  • Lateen sail
  • Carrack
  • Caravel
  • Fluyt
• What was the result of the Columbian Exchange?

  A biological exchange of crops, animals, people, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemisphere.
• What did the Atlantic System involve?

  The movement of goods and people among Western Europe, Western Africa, and the Americas.
• How did the Columbian Exchange change agricultural practices?

  It changed who grew what foods where and how they grew them.
• What negative impact did the Columbian Exchange have on populations?

  It unleashed deadly diseases on populations that had no immunity.
• What was one consequence of the Atlantic slave trade on African communities?

  It caused a gender imbalance.
• What labor systems developed in the Americas as a result of the Columbian Exchange and the Atlantic System?

  Coerced labor systems, including chattel slavery and indentured servitude.
• What were the encomienda and hacienda systems?

  Examples of coerced labor systems in the Spanish American colonies.
• How did social structures change in the Americas due to the coexistence of Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans?

  New social systems based on racial or ethnic identity emerged.
• What was the impact of the new social structures on wealth and political power in the Americas?

  White Europeans or Americans of European descent possessed the majority of wealth and political power.
• What societal conflicts arose from the new social structures in the Americas?

  Conflicts eventually led to revolutions.
• What were the economic changes resulting from European transoceanic voyages?

  • Integration of the Western Hemisphere into the global trading network
  • Emergence of maritime trading empires (Portuguese, Dutch, English)
  • Establishment of trading ports and cities along Africa and the Indian Ocean
  • Dominance of European trade over Arab, Indian, and Chinese merchants
• What was the role of silver in the global economy during this period?

  Silver from the Americas helped finance trade between Asia and Europe.
• What economic policies did European monarchs devise to benefit from trade?

  Mercantilist economic policies.
• How did mercantilism evolve in the new global economy?

  It eventually gave way to capitalism as the predominant economic system.
• What were joint-stock companies also called?

  Chartered companies.
• What were the effects of the new global economy on Europe?

  • Expansion of the middle class
  • Capital for the Industrial Revolution
  • Increase in funding for the arts
  • Economic inflation due to increased money circulation
• What demographic shift occurred in Africa due to the Atlantic slave trade?

  A decline in Africa's population occurred.
• What new crops contributed to the population increase in Africa after the Atlantic slave trade?

  New crops such as manioc.
• What traditional forced labor systems continued in Afro-Eurasia?

  Serfdom.
• How did the arrival of European settlers in the Americas affect labor systems?

  Many arrived as indentured servants.
• What was the impact of the Atlantic slave trade on American plantations?

  It led to the production of cash crops like sugar, cotton, and tobacco.
• What characterized the new social systems in the Americas?

  They were based on racial or ethnic identity.
• What led to the emergence of a rigid and hierarchical society in the Americas?

  The division based on racial or ethnic identity.
• What was the outcome of societal conflicts in the Americas?

  They eventually led to revolutions.