The Columbian Exchange –an exchange of plants, animals and diseases that altered life on both sides of the Atlantic. European diseases such as Smallpox destroyed Native American populations. European nations Spain, England and France took ownership of land in the New World. Mercantilism – European countries looked to expand their empires and increase their power by increasing their wealth. The colonies became a source of raw materials for European countries to produce manufactured goods. Triangular Trade routes developed between Europe, the Americas and Africa. The Middle Passage was the most inhumane part of the Triangular Trade System. Native Americans often traded with their European colonizers. Conflict arose between Europeans and natives when Europeans encroached on Native lands. Some colonists like William Penn of Pennsylvania believed in paying the Natives for their land and had laws passed to ensure that they were treated fairly. European rivalries existed and these nations fought over land in the Americas Powhatan’s daughter Pocahantas married John Rolfe of Virginia creating an alliance between the English and the Natives in Virginia. “For Native people, the discovery of Europe (through colonization) was a discovery of death on an unimaginable scale and of a struggle for cultural survival that continues to this day.” Daniel Richter Professor of History – University of Pennsylvania The French had generally better relations with the Natives than the English. They often married Native women, adapted to their way of life and traded with the Natives peacefully. “In 1508 there were 60,000 people living on the island of Hispaniola, including the Indians, so that from 1494-1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery and the mines” Bartholome de las Casas Native Americans, many of whom lived in great poverty, were at the bottom of the class system, slightly above or with enslaved Africans. Native Americans signed treaties with European settlers and at times coexisted peacefully. Often Natives helped Europeans adapt to the environment by helping them to grow crops.

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