Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange was the most important event to drive the global economy from 1500 to 1700. During the Exchange, many economics were affected and changed. One major effect was the introduction of cash crops to the new world to boost Europe's economy. Another major effect was New World and Japanese silver created a world trade network and silver-based currency. Slavery also became a major part in the Exchange and was efficient in silver mining and cash crop farming. The Columbian Exchange boosted cash crop trade in Europe, created a world silver trade, and drove the slave trade for economic purposes.
Cash crops in Europe had a big effect on its economy. Europe had cash crops like sugar and cotton but didn’t really have a place to grow …show more content…
After the Spanish conquest of Latin America, massive amounts of silver began to be mined and flow into the rest of the world. The silver started in Latin America where the Spaniards mined it using slaves. It then was sent to Spain where it was traded for goods. Silver and gold where the two things that really made up global trade and economics. In the article "Who's Driving? The Birth of World Trade: Silver and 1571" a section reads; "The demand for silver was so high in China that European merchants exchanged it for Chinese gold, which they later traded profitably for more silver as well as luxury goods in Japan" (). Silver and gold was precious to everyone and helped trade between Asia and Europe. Most of the silver was traded to China, which made China very wealthy. The article "Who's Driving" also stated "China was a sinkhole into which silver was poured by Europeans, because China did not want or need what Europe produced" (). China had many luxury goods that Europeans sought after, and China only accepted silver as a currency. With China fueling the global commerce, silver became a commodity. Around the same time the Spanish found silver in Latin America, Japan also discovered major silver deposits. Japan used the silver to unite the country, which at the time was at war with itself. After unification, the Japanese used more silver to boost its own economy and well-being by investing in agriculture and industry. Japan then …show more content…
With all the natives dying to European diseases, Europe didn’t have anyone to do their work for them. So, the slave trade was improved and became larger than ever before. With all the money to be made in cash crop farming, slaves were taken from Africa to work on the plantations of the New World. Slavery then connected with the progress of European economics with the plantations. In the article "Columbian Exchange Data Analysis" a caption reads, "A European supervisor … directs slaves on a sugar plantation in Barbados as they haul cane" (). The speed and efficiency of cash crop farming all depended on slavery. Slavery connects with economics of both cash crops and silver mining. In Latin America, the number of native slaves also was dwindling because of disease. With the natives dying, the need for African slaves arose even more. In the article "Who's Driving" a statement says, "Chinese demand for silver created profitable trade in the New World, which in turn created a demand for African slaves" (). China still had a massive demand for silver, so Spain had to get more slaves from Africa. This connected slavery with the world trade all because of the Columbian Exchange. Slavery became a major advance in global economics, and really changed the world.
The Columbian Exchange had many influences on the global economy. It created a major cash crop industry in the New World that made Europe rich. Silver from