Consequences of the Columbian Exchange
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / LESSON 6.2ACTIVITY CONSEQUENCES OFTHE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE1Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Consequences of the Columbian Exchange”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/PurposeAnalyzing the causes and effects of the Columbian Exchange will help youunderstand thecomplexityof the global networks of exchange it establishedand its continued impact on our world.Process1.Using what you learned about the Columbian Exchange in this lesson and the video The Columbian Exchange, examine the three cause-and-effect chains below. For each one, find the “weakest link”—the effect that doesn’t logically follow from the cause before it. Put an X through the box that doesn’t fit.2.Then, review the possible effects in the boxes below thechains. Choose the correct effect to replace each box you crossed out. Write the number of the chain it completes on top of the replacement box to mark your choice.
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / LESSON 6.2ACTIVITY CONSEQUENCES OF THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE2Cause and effectchains1.2.3.Possible effectsCrops, animals, and people were exchanged from Afro-Eurasia to the Americas and from the Americas to Afro-Eurasia.Millions of Africans were enslaved and forced to work on plantations in the Americas.Some European nations grew wealthy and used new technology to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.The world was divided into four world zones.Goods, ideas, people, and diseases moved across Afro-Eurasian trade routes.Goods, ideas, people, and diseases traveled across Mesoamerican and Pacific Islandtrade routes.Pineapples became a status symbol in Europe.Columbus miscalculated his sailing route and accidentally landed in the Americas.The potato famine occurred in Ireland.Afro-Eurasian populations grew after American crops like potatoes were introduced.More people wanted to travel between world zones.Europeans brought diseases like smallpox to the Americas.Europeans prioritized growing cash crops like tobacco, sugar, and cotton.Biodiversity increased.Europeans grew wealthy from trading cash crops grown by enslaved Africans.
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / LESSON 6.2ACTIVITY CONSEQUENCES OF THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE33.Answer the following questions:•What was one effect of the movement of people?•What was one effect of the movement of plants?4.What is the most important effect of the Columbian Exchange on the world today? Why?