Trade Between Europe And The New World example essay topic

What were the Effects of the Age of Discovery? The Age of Exploration was a time of struggle and wealth for many European countries. The pursuit of a trade route to the Far East led many countries across the ocean, looking for the great spice cities that were rumored by Marco Polo. These countries knew that whoever found the shortest or best route would become rich, very quickly. Explorers from many European countries embarked on journeys that not even they had any clue where they were going. This search for the Far East led to many discoveries that would otherwise have never been found.

Christopher Columbus may have been one of the most influential people ever to live. His pursuit of the spice trade routes led him to a completely new continent. While he first thought it was Asia, later explorers found it to be a new continent. It was very likely that someone other than Columbus would have eventually found the New World, but he was the first, which makes him the most important. The New World proved to be a blockbuster as far as the other 'finds'; during this time period.

The impact, both directly and indirectly on the lives of the Europeans was tremendous. It promoted wealth and it led to a desire for more explorers. The competition of the countries was amazing. There was always a race to see who would start the first colony, who would explore the continent, and of course who would make the most money. It goes without saying, the Age of Exploration shaped the Europe and the America of today, and it left everlasting effects. The world trade of the period increased to an unprecedented amount.

There was new types of businesses, new goods to be sold, and most importantly, new land to conquer. The exchange of goods from the New World and Europe increased Europe's wealth, but not only was there an exchange of goods, but also an exchange of disease. The first effect of the Age of Exploration, was the finding of the New World. The New World provided opportunities for European countries to conquer new lands and to obtain wealth while conquering. After Columbus 'found'; the New World, there were European explorers embarking on new journeys there constantly. They would set up new colonies and conquer new lands.

From these colonies, they set up trading posts back to their mother countries. Gold, fur, corn, potatoes, tobacco, chocolate, and many other products were brought back to Europe. The wealth from these products could only be imagined. The countries would then trade their imports to other countries and make a huge profit. This influx of money and goods led to the change of the economic systems in Europe. This change caused the Commercial Revolution, or the establishment of many types of new businesses.

The Commercial Revolution was caused not only from the income of the trading of goods, but also the large amounts of gold an silver that were found and shipped back to Europe. These large amounts of money led to capitalism and the beginning of banking and insurance. One important business that developed as a result of capitalism, was the joint-stock company. It allowed a person to be able to own part of a company by buying stock in it. If the company received a profit, the stockholders received a small amount also. While the trade between Europe and the New World flourished, new variables were added into the equation of the money making process.

Slave trading became an increasingly big part of the European profit. Slavery had existed for almost as long as anyone could remember, but with the new colonization of the New World, slavery began to change for good. The Portuguese set up trading routes with the Africans and it became common for the African tribes to sell their prisoners as slaves. The European market for slaves increased as the demand for physical labor in the New World increased. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, almost 20 million slaves were shipped from Africa to the New World. These slaves traveled in horrible conditions on overcrowded ships, and they used to receive horrible treatment from their white owners.

With all of the people coming from Europe and Africa, there was great interaction with the natives of the New World. This led to many things. One major result was the spread of diseases. New strands of diseases came from the Old World and infected the people of the New World with deadly strands of viruses. The natives of the New World were defenseless against these new types of diseases, and major epidemics spread throughout the whole New World. These epidemics are reported to have swept through entire towns, cites and countrysides, killing everyone but the most resistant individuals.

These diseases lowered the population in some parts of the New World to almost nothing. The spread of disease didn't stop in the New World though. Sailors and explorers from Europe that traveled to the New World were also subject to the diseases of the New World. These diseases included polio, syphilis, hepatitis, and yaws, a skin disease. The infected sailors would then bring these diseases back to Europe, and then these diseases would spread throughout the rest of the world via the trade routes. The Age of Discovery was a very influential time in the history of the world.

Not only did it shape the world as we know it today, but it put the world through a period of wealth, adventure, exploration, and even the turmoil of slavery. The exchange of food, disease, ideas, and wealth provided us with the businesses of today and of tomorrow.