The West Confronts The Americas & Africa In The Early Modern Age

a. ) In Smith’s interpretation of Europe’s interaction with the Americas, he made it seem like Columbus’ voyages greatly impacted the indigenous peoples in a positive way; which is true in some aspects. Some evidence to support Smiths claim is the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange took off because of Columbus. He was sending things from the New World to the Old World and vise versa, many of which were very beneficial to the indigenous peoples inhabiting the Americas. For example, he introduced many things to the Americas such as livestock. Horses helped the mobility of the indians and cattle replacing the native americans became a metaphor of the conquest of Mexico. Another example was the introduction of new crops such as sugar cane, which was grown in the flourishing plantations.
b. ) In Vizcayas interpretation, he explained how the Europeans didn’t even discover the Americas, as it was actually the indigenous people who had been living there for thousands of years prior who did. He also stated how the success of trade came at a cost which was the inhumanity to the indigenous peoples. To support this- through the Columbian Exchange, goods weren’t the only things imported. Diseases, such as smallpox came as well, and wiped out the indigenous populations. The indigenous people were also discriminated and forced into dangerous labor such as working in the silver mines. Columbus never really cared for the lives of the indigenous people like he said he did. He just wanted to assure the king and queen of Spain that everything was okay since they funded his voyages.
c. ) Although the Europeans did bring over many beneficial things such as livestock and crops, source 2 is more accurate to the actual nature of Europe’s interactions with the Americas. The Europeans had no mercy for the indigenous peoples. When they first saw them, they assumed they were technologically backward, even though they weren’t, due to their lack of clothing and weapons. Not only did they discriminate them, they also forced them into labor. They were forced to work in mines where they were beaten and not even paid properly. Even the chiefs were tortured, as if getting your homes/land taken over and working in deadly mines weren’t enough. Second Short Answera. The image shows two plans for slave ships. In one plan, it shows around 300 slaves in the lower deck of the ship with 130 of them being held under the shelves. In the other plan, it shows 130 additional slaves around the wings of the lower deck and shows that they only have around 3 feet of room. Slave ships from Africa to the Americas were brutal. About 12 million africans were shipped across the Atlantic with a mortality rate of 10-20%. These ships could go as high as 700 slaves per ship under unsanitary conditions. Once, on a ship with 716 slaves, 700 of them died on the journey.
Due to the Atlantic slave trade, the population of mulattos, or people of african and european blood, rose. This was the effect of the sexual exploitation and miscegenation of the slave women which created a hierarchy of status which wasn’t there in Africa. Color/race had a big role in this hierarchy, with skin color getting darker as you go farther down the pyramid. The free whites were at the top of the pyramid with the slaves at the bottom and the mulattos and other classes filled in the gaps. The mulatto class, although restricted from doing many things, were given more opportunities to do things such as skilled jobs.
d. ) The Atlantic slave trade had an effect on the population of Africa. Starting off, the Atlantic slave trade focused primarily on men because of the heavy labor, so the woman to man ratio in Africa was off which had an effect on reproduction, which brought down the population a lot. If it weren’t for the Atlantic slave trade, the population in Africa would’ve been at least a million more than it was because of the slave trade. The slave trade for the slaves meant being taken from their families and the destruction of their villages. Any hopes for a good future were crushed. Adding on, the capturers didn’t even know the difference between the nobility and the slaves so they just captured everyone.