In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. This started the European conquest and colonisation of the Americas alongside the Columbian Exchange. A few years later in 1529, the Ottoman Empire’s serge into Europe was halted at Vienna. The zenith of Ottoman domination had been reached, but they were still a threat. Ottoman dominion reached Mecca in the south and Hungary in the north. Indeed the fact that they had comparable technology to the Europeans via Janissaries, plus there greater manpower reserve furthered this. Therefore both of these events had large ramifications in Europe, but the greater of the two was the former. By looking at four key determinants (political implications, identity of Europeans, transfer of people,
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The comparison with the eggplant enabled this. After which they could be distributed amongst entire populations, like potatoes in Ireland, making this a very important determinant. However this was not always the case. Pineapples personify this. They had no comparison, so were disregarded. Furthermore animals like Lamas failed in Europe. Nevertheless there are as many cases of success in goods from the Americas as failures, chilli peppers being another example. Hereby it is appropriate to label Columbus’ discovery huge in this significant determinant. Frank’s counter to this rests on the motives of the first explorers. It is widely acknowledged that Columbus’ trip across the Atlantic was an attempt to reach Asia. Following the fall of the Mongol Empire and the rise of the Ottomans, the once great trade networks had been cut off from Europe. Consequently new routes were required, or the Ottoman Empire needed to be attacked. The latter was chosen because of the Turks’ military prowess. Once the Portuguese had sailed below the horn of Africa a new route …show more content…
Nonetheless the discovery of the New World was still key. Therefore Marks’ position is justified. Arguably the most influential part of the Columbian Exchange were the gold and silver exports. After the original looting had finished, the Incan Emperor Atahualpa’s ransom being the most notorious, the silver mines at Potosi and Zacatecas were found. Wherefore a total of 32,000,000 pounds of silver and 360,000 pounds of gold were exported between 1503 and 1660. A great proportion went to the Spanish and their wars, from the Thirty Years’ War to the Armada. Since these wars encompassed much of Europe at one time, it is clear that this precipitated much of European politics. Nonetheless the Ottoman threat was cataclysmic too, perhaps more so. Not only was some of this money used in the Habsburg-Ottoman wars, but the Ottoman threat had quashed a previous threat to Europe’s periphery: the steppe hordes. The Mongol Empire had previously shown the danger of this, but because of the effectiveness of the Ottoman rule, these peoples never again threatened Europe. So far it appears as if they are both equally important. However this is changed when the time span of the Ottoman threat is considered against the discovery of the New World. The Ottoman threat dictated politics from the beginning of the Early Modern Era (proven by their war with Venice), whilst the consequences of
The comparison with the eggplant enabled this. After which they could be distributed amongst entire populations, like potatoes in Ireland, making this a very important determinant. However this was not always the case. Pineapples personify this. They had no comparison, so were disregarded. Furthermore animals like Lamas failed in Europe. Nevertheless there are as many cases of success in goods from the Americas as failures, chilli peppers being another example. Hereby it is appropriate to label Columbus’ discovery huge in this significant determinant. Frank’s counter to this rests on the motives of the first explorers. It is widely acknowledged that Columbus’ trip across the Atlantic was an attempt to reach Asia. Following the fall of the Mongol Empire and the rise of the Ottomans, the once great trade networks had been cut off from Europe. Consequently new routes were required, or the Ottoman Empire needed to be attacked. The latter was chosen because of the Turks’ military prowess. Once the Portuguese had sailed below the horn of Africa a new route …show more content…
Nonetheless the discovery of the New World was still key. Therefore Marks’ position is justified. Arguably the most influential part of the Columbian Exchange were the gold and silver exports. After the original looting had finished, the Incan Emperor Atahualpa’s ransom being the most notorious, the silver mines at Potosi and Zacatecas were found. Wherefore a total of 32,000,000 pounds of silver and 360,000 pounds of gold were exported between 1503 and 1660. A great proportion went to the Spanish and their wars, from the Thirty Years’ War to the Armada. Since these wars encompassed much of Europe at one time, it is clear that this precipitated much of European politics. Nonetheless the Ottoman threat was cataclysmic too, perhaps more so. Not only was some of this money used in the Habsburg-Ottoman wars, but the Ottoman threat had quashed a previous threat to Europe’s periphery: the steppe hordes. The Mongol Empire had previously shown the danger of this, but because of the effectiveness of the Ottoman rule, these peoples never again threatened Europe. So far it appears as if they are both equally important. However this is changed when the time span of the Ottoman threat is considered against the discovery of the New World. The Ottoman threat dictated politics from the beginning of the Early Modern Era (proven by their war with Venice), whilst the consequences of