Final answer:
The Columbian Exchange and the Triangular Trade were similar in that they both involved extensive trade networks and affected the economies and societies of multiple continents. They both saw those in power benefit economically, with European powers, African traders, and colonial elites in the Americas profiting from the system at the expense of indigenous populations and enslaved Africans.
Step-by-step explanation:
Both the Columbian Exchange and the Triangular Trade were similar in that they involved expansive trade networks connecting multiple continents, revolved around the movements of goods, labor, and wealth, and significantly affected the economies and societies of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The Triangular Trade linked the Americas, Europe, and West Africa in a network of exchange where European powers, African traders, and colonial elites benefited economically by engaging in the trade of manufactured goods, enslaved Africans, and agricultural products. The Columbian Exchange involved the exchange of crops, diseases, animals, and metals, fundamentally transforming cultures, economies, and diets across the globe.
The beneficiaries of these systems were primarily those in power in Europe - the merchant class and monarchies who saw vast increases in wealth due to the exploitation of resources and labor. In Africa, powerful groups engaged in the selling of enslaved individuals also profited, while in the Americas, colonial elites amassed wealth from the labor-intensive plantation system. Both exchanges relied on the exploitation of indigenous peoples, and the forced labor of enslaved Africans, and resulted in significant demographic and societal changes due to the movement of people, diseases, and the exchange of culture and technologies.