The Columbian Exchange, Spanish Exploration, and Conquest [APUSH Unit 1 Topic 4] 1.4

In this video Heimler discusses the Columbian Exchange between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

By definition, the Columbian Exchange was the transfer of animals, food, minerals, disease, and people between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas.

The exchange itself fundamentally transformed all societies in which it took place. One of the more significant exchanges was disease, most notably, smallpox. When Spanish conquistadors first introduced smallpox and other diseases to the natives of the Americas, their population was decimated, and therefore they became a relatively easy target for further European conquest.

If you have any questions, leave them below and Heimler will answer forthwithly.