Question

Epilogue Context: European Cultural Change: The Age of Exploration resulted in a steep increase in the variety of goods available in Europe. Suddenly, items from around the world were available in Europe in ever-increasing quantities. This resulted in changing patterns of consumption for all classes of European society, especially the newly rich middle class. Demand increased for luxury goods that could be used to display wealth and status, especially goods from China and India. “Things which in centuries past were considered to be quite rare are now thought by all and sundry to be quite necessary.” —Ralph Fitch, British merchant, 1599.

Explain what Ralph Fitch means when he stated “Things which in centuries past were considered to be quite rare are now thought by all and sundry to be quite necessary.” Be specific.

Answer 1

The Americas

Explorers and conquistadors brought many new plants to the Americas. They brought European crops such as barley and rye. They brought wheat, which was originally from the Middle East. They brought plants that had originally come from Asia, including sugar, bananas, yams, citrus fruit, coffee, rice, and sugarcane.

New plants created new economies in the Americas. They also contributed to the creation of huge slave societies. By the 1600s, the Portuguese were growing sugar, bananas, and citrus fruit on large plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean. They began importing African slaves to work on these plantations. This was the beginning of a slave trade that uprooted millions of Africans over the next few centuries. Later, African slaves were brought to the American South to grow cotton, tobacco, rice, and other crops.