Final answer:
The Transatlantic Voyages of 1491-1607 were driven by European desires for exploration, trade, and spreading Christianity, enabled by technological advances. These voyages led to the Columbian Exchange, colonization, and the Great Dying, and had profound economic and cultural impacts, which included the initiation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
Causes and Consequences of Transatlantic Voyages (1491-1607)
Throughout the fifteenth century, technological innovations such as the caravel, the astrolabe, and more accurate maps made transatlantic journeys possible. The motives for Spanish and Portuguese exploration in the Americas included the desire to find new trade routes to Asia, expand their empires, spread Christianity, and gain access to valuable resources.
The Treaty of Tordesillas impacted the Atlantic World by dividing it between Spain and Portugal, which influenced future colonization and trade patterns. The Columbian Exchange refers to the vast physical and cultural ramifications that occurred as a result of the exchange of crops, animals, and diseases following Columbus's voyages. New economic opportunities arose and global trading increased, but this also led to the Great Dying, a term used to describe the massive loss of life among indigenous populations largely due to the introduction of diseases from Europe.