Humans and the Environment, 1450-1750

Question 1

~Human impact on the environment

Answer 1

● Increased substantially because of technological advances and the worlwide expansion of trade
● Reinforcied by intensification of certain economic activities, including new forms of agriculture production, the rise of manufacturing, and resource extraction on a greater sclae than ever before

Question 2

~Contact between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas

Answer 2

● The ecosystems of Afro-Eurasia and the Americas were brought into contact with each other at the end of the 1400s by the European campaigns of exploration that continued into the 1500s and 1600s
● Resulting two-way transmission of foodstuffs, animal species, disease pathogens and human populations
- Also known as Columbian Exchange

Question 3

~Little Ice Age

Answer 3

● After a gradual cooling curing the 1300s and 1400s
● Hit its peak between the early 1500s and the mid-1800s
● Affected agricultural practices, trade routes, and patterns of animal migration and human settlement, especially in the northern hemisphere

Question 4

~Columbian Exchange

Answer 4

● One of the greatest ecological and demographic transformations
● Exchange of animals, plants, and foods shaped the environments of Old World and New World alike

Question 5

~Mass transfer of populations

Answer 5

● A demographic change associated with the Columbian exchange
● Economic and geopolitical traffic back and forth acrss the Atlantic increased steadily during the period, touching off a huge serios of migrations, both volutnary and involuntary
● THeir interaction with the indigenous peoples and with each other led to rich and complex ethnic and cultural mixing

Question 6

~Plantation agriculture/monnoculture

Answer 6

● THe use of a sizable terrotory for the large-scale production of a single crop to the AAmericas
● Especially harmful to the environment

Question 7

~Soil depletion

Answer 7

● Nutrients in the soil were exhausted

Question 8

~Deforestation

Answer 8

● Woods were cleared to make room for farms

Question 9

~Overgrazing

Answer 9

● In areas where herding and pastoralism were still practiced

Question 10

~Manufacturing

Answer 10

● Led increase numbers of water mills and windmills
● FOr metallurgy and for proto-industrial production, and also to heat a growing number of homes and buildings, the burning of cola and wood fires vastly increased in scale
● Led to a gradual rise in pollution

Question 11

~Resource extraction

Answer 11

● Wood is needed both for fuel and far hte making of houses, furniture and ships among other things
● THe growing apetite for othe rraw materials like metals and minerals, whether for currency, production of gunpowder weaponry or for hte manufacture of trade goods, caused mining to become more significant
● Expansion of the textiles trade required larger quantities of cotton and silk

Question 12

~Animal hunting

Answer 12

● Large-scale fishing became more important
● Hunting of whales for meat and oil, used mainly to light lamps
● THe quest for furs fundamentally shaped the course of European expansion into places like North America and Siberia
- Drastically reduced the numbers of dozens of animal specides, indlucing seals, beavers, otters, sables, and many others
● The killing of walruses and elephants for ivory ramped up during these years as well

Question 13

~What animals were introduced to Americas?

Answer 13

● From Afro-Eurasia came sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs, which increased the meat and milk supply in the Americas
● The Europeans also brought the horse, which provided labor and transport and radically changed the lifestyle of Native Americas who lived and hunted on plains and grasslands

Question 14

~What foodstuffs were introduced to Americas?

Answer 14

● Sugercane and cotton to the Americas, where it would eventually be produced in massive quantities
- A crucial facor in the emergence of the Atlantic slave trade
● Okra and rice from Africa, along with wheat, olives, grapevines, citrus, and other fruits were brought tot he Americas as well
● During the 1700s, coffee was found to flourish in the Caribbean and South America

Question 15

~What foodstuffs were introduced to Afro-Eurasia?

Answer 15

● Manioc and corn (maize) displaced many traditional foods in Africa
● Potatoes and corn (maize) had the biggest impact on Europe and Asia
● All three were relatively easy to grow and yelded many calories per acre
● THey sparked a general growth in Afro-Eurasian populations, and they also helped to offset the negative effects that the Little Ice Age had on agricultural production in many parts of the northern hemisphere
● Other plants included squash, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, beans, peanuts, and vitamin-rich tomatoes
● Tobacco and cacao becmae eagerly sought luxury goods in Europe

Question 16

~What diseases were introduced to Americas?

Answer 16

● Yellow fever and malaria came from Africa
● Smallpox, measles, and influenza came from the rest of the world
● THe inhabitants of the Americas had no immunity to these new illnesses, making them deadly

Question 17

~What disease was introduced to Afro-Eurasia?

Answer 17

● Sexually transmitted disease syphilis

Question 18

~What environmental problems can plantation agricultre/monoculture lead to?

Answer 18

● Soil depletion
● Deforestation
● Water shortages
● Overgrzing