Identify two crops from the Americas that significantly contributed to population growth in Europe and Africa. Explain why these crops were so impactful.

Potatoes and cassava (manio). They are calorically dense, allowing more people to be fed from the same amount of land compared to traditional crops like wheat.

Describe one positive and one negative impact of the introduction of European animals to the Americas.

Positive: Horses revolutionized hunting for Native Americans on the Great Plains. Negative: Pigs became pests, damaging crops and multiplying rapidly.

What was the most devastating consequence of the Columbian Exchange for the Native American population?

The spread of Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and whooping cough, to which Native Americans had little immunity.

Columbus And Global Trade In 1472 Lesson Plan for 11th Grade

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Objective

I can analyze Christopher Columbus's voyages in the context of 15th-century global trade networks.

Part 1 of 4

Warm-up video

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Part 2 of 4

Key concepts

3 concepts

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.

Part 3 of 4

Practice

12 questions

What is the term used to describe the widespread exchange of plants, animals, microbes, and people between the Americas, Europe, and Africa following Columbus's voyages?

Name three crops that were brought from the Old World to the New World by Europeans.

Part 4 of 4

Exit ticket

Quick comprehension check

“Describe two specific examples of goods or resources that were transferred from the Old World to the New World as part of the Columbian Exchange, and explain their impact.”

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Columbus and Global Trade in 1472