How Did the Atlantic Slave Trade Evolve? Essay example

The Columbian Exchange, beginning in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’s first voyage, was a global trading standoff between the Old World and the New World. Plants, animals, and diseases were being traded fervently between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The global and social changes made during this exchange would leave a lasting impression on the Americas in the years that followed.

By definition, the Columbian Exchange is described as the transatlantic flow of goods, people, and diseases, beginning with Christopher Columbus’s voyages and discovery of the New World in 1492. (Give Me Liberty!) This interpretation, however, does not give this event the acknowledgement it deserves, as the effects of this complex transaction made a significant impact of the modern history of the world. It completely shaped the world humans live in today, from the languages they speak, to the nations they live in, to the food they eat. (shmoop.com) The ideas, people, goods, and diseases spread during the Columbian Exchange diversified the world culturally, biologically, and economically.

The Columbian Exchange has been called the “greatest human intervention in nature since the invention of agriculture” (Grennes 2007). The exchange of diseases, plants, and animals lead to a global cultural and economic shift throughout the Old and New Worlds following Christopher Columbus' 'discovery' of the Americas in 1492. The Eastern Hemisphere saw an influx of raw materials, new staple crops, and the income from and production of growing crops that were too resource intensive for Europe and Asia. The Western Hemisphere saw large scale population shifts, massive devastation accompanying colonization, and a significant change in the ecosystem with the introduction of new, sometimes invasive, plants and animals. This 'exchange' had one

The trade of biological and cultural aspects defines The Columbian Exchange, also called the Great Biological Exchange, for the first time Europeans decided to connect with the Western Hemisphere. This was important because the Europeans actually gained more by taking advantage of the Indians; animals, plants, and diseases, these transactions marked a whole new beginning in the history of America. Two isolated parties explored their differences, and by that, they enriched their biological and cultural lives.

The Columbian Exchange is the exchange of plants, animals, food, and diseases between Europe and the Americas. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus came to America, he saw plants and animals he had never seen before so he took them back with him to Europe. Columbus began the trade routes which had never been established between Europe and the Americas so his voyages initiated the interchange of plants between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, which doubled the food crop resources available to people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Columbian Exchange- The Columbian Exchange was a way exchanging new resources between the new world and the old world. This impacted Europeans and Native Americans positively with the new materials now available, like technology, plants, and animals. There were some negative effects from these exchanges too, such as diseases. Made it easier to interact with other cultures.

The Columbian Exchange was perhaps one of the first environmentally detrimental event in American history. This exchange refers to the trade of food, goods, and disease between the Old World, referring to the eastern hemisphere, and the New World, referring to the Americas. The New World had many things to contribute such as potatoes, maize, tomatoes, and chili peppers, which shaped the culinary of both Europe and Asia (Nun 163). Additionally, Europe introduced domesticated animals such as horses, cattle, cats, and dogs to the Americas.

There are different experiences of the slave trade that are reflected in these documents such as those of an enslaved person (Olaudah Equiano), a European slave trader (Thomas Phillips – an English merchant), an African monarch (King Jao) whose kingdom and personal authority suffered from the slave trade, and an African monarch (Osei Bonsu) who opposed the ending of the slave trade. Of all the commercial ties that linked the early modern world into global network of exchange, none had more profound or enduring human consequences than the Atlantic Slave Trade. And in all these documents, we can see how people reacted differently to this system based on how they encountered it and how it affected them.

The Columbian Exchange was a region of trade that occurred during period of biological and cultural exchanges of the Atlantic states. Exchanges of culture, ideas, diseases, slaves and technology transformed European and Native American societies. In 1492 the exchange lasted throughout the years of European expansion and exploration. The Columbian Exchange affected the social and cultural aspects of the old and new world. Advancements in agricultural production, development of warfare, mortality rates meaning death rates, and education of Native Americans are some examples of how the Columbian Exchange influenced both Native Americans and Europeans.

As the Europeans set up colonies in America, they brought the plantation ideas with them, which led to the need for labor hence they tried to enslave the Native Americans to work in their mines and fields. The Native Americans were prone to diseases hence most of them died as a result of diseases and overworking. Apart from the ones who died, a number rebelled and formed alliances forcing the Europeans to look for other sources of labor. They started to acquire African slaves due to a number of reasons: The African slaves were more stronger and immune to a number of diseases in Europe and America; the Africans had no friends and family in America hence it was not easy for them to form alliances or to escape; they provided a permanent and a cheap source of labor; and most of them had worked on farms before in their

The changes in African life during the slave trade era form an important element in the economic and technological development of Africa. Although the Atlantic slave trade had a negative effect on both the economy and technology, it is important to understand that slavery was not a new concept to Africa. In fact, internal slavery existed in Africa for many years. Slaves included war captives, the kidnapped, adulterers, and other criminals and outcasts. However, the number of persons held in slavery in Africa, was very small, since no economic or social system had developed for exploiting them (Manning 97). The new system-Atlantic slave trade-became quite different from the early African slavery. The

Africans were initially brought to the Americas by the Europeans and the Portuguese to work on the plantations in South America. They were presented to the Americas Africans were originally brought to the Americas, by the Europeans and the Portuguese, to work on the plantations and sugar farms in South America. They were presented to the Americas as soon as it was occupied, and noticed by other Europeans. This formed the slave deal between the Americas and Europe and Africa. They would partake in swapping merchandises. As a side note, The Latino/Hispanic

Many historians have argued that the Atlantic slave trade was motivated either by race or economics. Personally, I find this to be true. With new European colonies being started around the world, there became a need for a labor force that could help economically and financially in the cheapest way possible. When the people figured out that they could go on voyages to Africa and come back with 200+ sets of hands for manual labor, they exploited this. Slaves would be bought and owned by citizens to help do everyday tasks and a tremendous amount of manual labor. However even though a great portion of slavery was for financial reasons, it soon became a thing due to racism as well. These Africans that were brought over were thought of as “not human” and used this as a reason to participate in the treacherous act that is slavery. Many elements that denominated from economics and racism were the causes for the Atlantic Slave trade.

In the 1500s to 1900s, Africans were taken from Africa and brought across the Atlantic Ocean where they were traded and sold for labor in the New World, which included the Caribbean Islands, and North and South America. Around the 1600s, the Europeans captured and bought slaves, which began the Atlantic Slave trade and the forced migration of about 24 million people from Africa.

The trading and distribution of slaves were important to the development of western colonies. According to, to the “Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database”, during the transatlantic slave trade, an estimated 12.5 million Africans were stripped from their countries and sent all over the west, of those only about 10.5 million made it to the intended destination (“Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade”). From the 10.5 million, about 493,163 (5 percent) went to Barbados, a small British island in the west indies (“Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade”). Barbados was influential in the development of the American Lowcountry. Barbados was also significant in the development of Carolina’s plantation and slave infrastructure. As a result, many of the slaves that were