Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange—the transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas that was set in motion by European voyages across the Atlantic—was a turning point in global history. These lessons and materials will help you explain its impact from a diversity of perspectives and understand how it laid the foundations of our interconnected world.
Featured Materials
The First Global Age (1200 to 1750 CE): Unit 6 Overview
Video
The First Global Age (1200 to 1750 CE): Unit 6 Overview
As global interconnections increased during the Columbian Exchange, people blended traditional teachings with new ideas to transform the world.
World Zone Café
Activity
World Zone Café
Welcome to the World Zone Cafe, where YOU make the menu based on what was available where during this period.
Crops that Grew the World
Article
Crops that Grew the World
After 1492, the movement of plants had monumental effects on populations, the environment, and systems of production and distribution.
Lessons
Lesson 3.5
The Columbian Exchange
After 1492, oceanic empires and transoceanic trade moved plants, animals, people, and disease to new places. This exchange transformed populations, food, culture, and social structures in every society on Earth.
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Lesson 6.2
Four World Zones Connect
The connection of the world zones helped establish empires unlike any the world had ever known, powered by incredible technological breakthroughs. But this interconnection came at a staggering cost.
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Materials
Amonute
Graphic Biographies
Amonute
Amonute was a Powhatan woman who intervened between her people and early English colonists in Virginia.
Religious Syncretism in Colonial Mexico City
Article
Religious Syncretism in Colonial Mexico City
After Spanish conquistadors sacked the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, they tried to convert Mexico City’s Indigenous people to a new religion. Results were mixed.
Transatlantic Migration Patterns: The Voluntary and Involuntary Movement of People
Article
Transatlantic Migration Patterns: The Voluntary and Involuntary Movement of People
People moved across the Atlantic Ocean for many reasons during this period, but most migrants didn’t have much of a choice.
The Disastrous Effects of Increased Global Interactions c. 1500 to c. 1600
Article
The Disastrous Effects of Increased Global Interactions c. 1500 to c. 1600
Increased global networks had some benefits, but the Atlantic slaving system and the sharp decline in indigenous populations were among the devastating effects of this period.
Domingos Álvares
Graphic Biographies
Domingos Álvares
As a priest and healer, Domingos Álvares was dedicated to building communities and networks wherever he went.