The Columbian Exchange

Homework for Tuesday, Sept. 11:  Finish reading Chapter 1.     

1. In what ways were American Indian societies different from European or later Euro-American societies?
2.  Why do Historians have different interpretations of past events?
3.  What social, political, economic, and technological “forces” led to the European exploration and conquest of the New World?
4.   How did the transfer of people, cultures, and germs affect the Americas and Europe?

Please see the podcast below. It is an interview (on NPR's Fresh Air) with Charles Mann, the author of 1493 a book about how the exchange of plants, animals, and microbes radically changed the course of history for both the Old World and the New World. It's a great example of how unitended consequences are often even more important than intended consequences.