Question

Which of the following defines the Columbian Exchange?

A) Changing sugarcane into sugar to sell at a huge profit.
B) Sharing the riches from one land to another in the Western Hemisphere.
C) Using missionaries to convert Indians to Christianity in the Eastern Hemisphere.
D) Moving people and their ways of life between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Answer 1

The Columbian Exchange refers to the extensive transfer of plants, animals, cultures, and other aspects between the Americas and the Old World after Columbus's voyages, with option B) correctly defining it as an exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between Europe and the Americas.

Step-by-step explanation:

The term Columbian Exchange defines the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries, following Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas. Among the options provided, the one that best describes the Columbian Exchange is B) an exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between Europe and the Americas. This monumental exchange impacted nearly every society on the planet and can be seen as a pivotal point in ecological globalization and cultural transformation.

The significance of the Columbian Exchange involved not only the biological aspects such as crops, animals, and diseases but also the cultural diffusion due to the interchange of foods, technologies, and cultures. For example, American crops like maize and potatoes had enormous impacts on European diets and consequently on European historical trajectories.

The Columbian Exchange led to a profound economic revolution, which changed global economies and societies. It created a new intercontinental dependency for resources and commodities, thereby reshaping patterns of trade and transforming cultures.