Final answer:
The most profound initial result of European and Native American cultural interaction was the Columbian Exchange, an extensive transfer of various elements between the Americas and the Old World, having lasting impacts on global populations and ecosystems.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first and perhaps most profound result of the meeting of native and European cultures was the Columbian Exchange. This pivotal moment in history refers to the extensive transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, cultures, technology and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the wake of European exploration and settlement. The Columbian Exchange had wide-reaching effects on global populations, ecosystems, and economies, transforming diets, health, and societies around the world.
For example, foods like corn (maize) and potatoes were brought to Europe from the Americas, fundamentally changing European diets, while horses and cattle were introduced to the New World, altering the way indigenous peoples lived and worked. Unfortunately, diseases such as smallpox brought by Europeans had devastating impacts on Native American populations, with mortality rates in some communities reaching up to 95 percent.
The Treaty of Tordesillas and the Encomienda System are other historical outcomes linked to European exploration and colonization, but they did not initiate the immediate and extensive cultural and biological exchange that the Columbian Exchange did. The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the New World between the Spanish and the Portuguese, while the Encomienda System was a labor system imposed by the Spanish on the indigenous peoples of the Americas.