Columbus and Global Trade in 1472
11th Grade · Social Studies · 60 min· Standard
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Learning Objective
I can analyze Christopher Columbus's voyages in the context of 15th-century global trade networks.
- 1
The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of plants, animals, microbes, and people across the Atlantic in both directions.
- 2
New World crops like potatoes and corn were calorically dense and led to a population increase in Europe and Africa.
- 3
Old World diseases like smallpox, measles, and whooping cough decimated the Native American population, leading to a demographic catastrophe where an estimated 90% of the population died within 100 years.
