Brief message about ballerina Anna Pavlova. The immortal swan of Russian ballet: Anna Pavlova - the prima who gave the world a legendary image

The discovery of America radically influenced the worldview and life of Europe. Not only tobacco and potatoes entered the life of Europeans, but also new diseases.

New Horizons

From the time the West Indies were recognized as a new continent, European ideas about geography globe have changed greatly. In addition to the fact that the inhabited world turned out to be immensely huge, Europe learned about the existence of other peoples whose lifestyle and mentality were completely different from the usual European values.

Before the indigenous population of America became “civilized” by Europe, the Old and New Worlds had to endure a conflict between two civilizations that had until then developed in different cultural and temporal dimensions.

Market expansion

By the end of the 15th century, European trade was in serious decline. Domination of the Mediterranean Sea by Genoese and Venetian merchants, capture by the Turks Central Asia and the Balkans, as well as the restoration of the monopoly of the Egyptian sultans over the Red Sea, deprived Europe of full access to goods from the East.

In addition, Europe experienced a shortage of minted coins, which, through Italian merchants, large quantities went to the East.

The development of America made it possible to obtain a new source of gold and silver for Europe, and at the same time, a variety of goods previously unseen in the Old World. In the future, the American continent became a vast market for industrial goods from Europe.

Inflation

Already towards the middle XVI century The excess of gold and silver imported from overseas to Europe gave rise to a serious depreciation of money. The volume of coins in circulation has quadrupled. The sharp drop in the value of gold and silver led to higher prices for agricultural and industrial products, which increased threefold or more by the end of the century.

Inflation had reverse side. It contributed to the strengthening of the position of the nascent bourgeoisie, the growth of its income, as well as an increase in the number of manufacturing workers. This paved the way for the rapid industrial development of the most powerful European countries.

Industrial Revolution

If Portugal and Spain, when developing the American market, primarily benefited from trade, then England, France and the Netherlands increased their production capacity. By exchanging industrial goods for overseas gold and silver, the bourgeoisie quickly increased their capital.

England, intensively developing its fleet, ousted competitors from the sea routes, and by the middle XVII century and completely established complete control over the colonies in North America. Raw materials and agricultural products were imported from the New World to England, and English industrial goods were supplied to America - from metal buttons to fishing boats.

The rapid growth of production ultimately served as the basis for the Industrial Revolution in England.

Change of economic center

The discovery of America seriously influenced the redistribution of economic forces in Europe. Following the movement of the main trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, the center of economic life also moves to the countries of the Atlantic coast of Europe.

The Italian city-republics are gradually losing their former power: they are being replaced by new centers of world trade - Lisbon, Seville and Antwerp. By the middle of the 16th century, the latter occupied a leading position in trade and financial market: weaving factories, sugar factories, breweries are being built there, diamond processing enterprises are emerging, and stock exchanges are opening. By 1565, the population of Antwerp exceeded 100 thousand inhabitants - an impressive figure for Europe of those years.

Colonialism and the slave trade

Very little time passed after Columbus's caravels landed on the shores of the New World, and the largest maritime powers began the colonial redivision of the world. The first victim on the long path of European expansion was the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti), which the Spaniards declared their property.

Along with development economic life in America with new strength The slave trade made itself known. In Europe, the slave trade became a kind of royal privilege, inherited. As the geography of activity of trading companies in Portugal, Spain, France and England expanded, supplies of slaves to slave markets increased, primarily from the African continent.

New crops

The lands of America became an agricultural base, from where crops unknown in the Old World were brought to Europe - cocoa, vanilla, beans, pumpkin, cassava, avocado, pineapple. And some exotic crops have successfully taken root in Europe: we can no longer imagine our diet without zucchini, sunflowers, corn, potatoes and tomatoes.

However, the real conqueror of Europe was tobacco. It began to be grown in Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium and England. Government I saw it very quickly new culture prospects and monopolized the tobacco market.

It is curious that Columbus was the first European to try tobacco, and the first victim of tobacco smoking was a member of his crew, Rodrigo de Jerez, and a political victim. Catholic Church accused Jerez, who blew puffs of smoke from his mouth, of having a connection with the devil and initiated the first anti-tobacco campaign in history.

Pest

When Columbus first brought wild potatoes to Europe, their small, watery tubers were unsuitable for human consumption. Centuries of breeding work have made potatoes edible: it is in this form that they returned to America.

But in the New World, potatoes were enjoyed not only by the colonists, but also by the Colorado potato beetle. The population of the once harmless insect has grown so much that it has become crowded within the borders of the American continent.

The pest reached Europe only in the 20th century, but in a matter of decades it firmly established itself in the potato fields of the Old World, and in 1940 it entered the USSR. Methods of combating the Colorado potato beetle were constantly being improved, but the insect developed immunity to them with amazing consistency.

Disease

It is known that the Spanish conquistadors awarded the Indians with many diseases that the natives’ bodies simply could not cope with. But the Indians did not remain in debt. Along with Columbus's ships, syphilis entered Europe.

The first syphilis epidemic, which swept through Europe in 1495, reduced the population of the Old World by 5 million people. The further spread of the exotic disease brought disasters to the European peoples comparable to epidemics of smallpox, measles and plague.

Model of a multinational society

After Europeans set foot on the lands of the New World, they had to learn to live in a multinational society: on the one hand, this is neighborhood in new conditions European peoples– the British, Spaniards, French, and on the other – the relationship of the colonialists with the indigenous inhabitants of America and, later, Africa.

Model multinational society has undergone major changes in America, largely overcoming the costs of racial and religious intolerance. Europe faced the problems of a multiethnic society later, but the countries of both Americas, and, first of all, the United States, acted as a model for the neighborhood of such dissimilar peoples.

Once upon a time, Europeans settled the New World in search of riches and better life, centuries later Europe will turn into a coveted paradise for millions of migrants.

It is common knowledge that Columbus sailed to China but lost his way. On the new continent he discovered people who lived in the Stone Age. Columbus brought several natives to Europe as if they were zoo animals. In America he found neither gold nor silver. When meeting with local residents Columbus was fascinated by their friendliness and trustfulness. In response, the Europeans showed unprecedented cruelty. The world has never seen such bloodshed at the hands of “civilized” Europe. There was no rationality and common sense. Why did you have to kill so many? work force, which could be used on sugar plantations? The passion of the Spaniards and Portuguese for gold and silver led them to Peru and Mexico, and to the conquest of Africa. Thus began the great trade in “living” gold, which brought huge profits to the conquerors. At that time, the sale of such goods provided very high profits at minimal costs.
Portugal was shocked by the success of the Spaniards. In July 1497, Vasco da Gama set out on a journey to discover India two years later. At that time, the Muslims of India did not want to trade with the infidel Europeans. The expedition was not a commercial success, but Vasco da Gama brought home good news: firstly, the Europeans were stronger than the natives, and secondly, spices in India were unusually cheap, and their trade promised huge profits.
Unlike the Spaniards, the Portuguese ordered their ships to fill out unique questionnaires when meeting the natives in order to know what economic benefits could be obtained from trading with them. If in the 16th century. Arab world did not go through a period of political farce, if the people of India had not fought with each other and against the Chinese conquerors, the fate of India might have been different. Of course, it helped the Europeans foreign policy China, in which in the 16th century. It was practically forbidden to build multi-masted ships, even for trading purposes. The Chinese, unlike the Europeans, were not curious. They visited other countries to show themselves, not to learn something new. Sea travel were not a private initiative and did not pursue the goal of making a profit. They were not funded by private individuals and royal courts to then benefit from the expeditions.
It would be incorrect to say that the Spaniards destroyed high culture Aztecs and Incas. In fact, these empires were real dictatorships in which the leaders engaged in sacrifices. At the time when Spain discovered America, these totalitarian states were greatly weakened and could not resist the conquerors, who successfully used the religious prejudices of local leaders and
people's hatred of power. The Aztec Emperor Montezuma did not know whether to consider the Spaniards as gods or people. The Spanish leader Cortes, resorting to cunning, soon acquired complete control over the gold-rich Inca Empire.
As soon as the conquistadors broke the resistance of the local population, they began to plunder new territories. They were not interested in agriculture and cattle breeding. They imported food from Europe and did not think about sunny lands can be used not only as a source of gold. As a result, others took up the sugar business, cattle breeding, and tobacco growing. The Spaniards' passion for gold turned out to be a huge mistake from a long-term perspective.
One more profitable business There was a slave trade at that time. The Portuguese, Dutch, English and Spaniards were busy with it. Portuguese! distinguished themselves by actively using their dominance in South Asia. The British, not possessing such power as the Spaniards, made a living by plundering ships full of booty from America. They were called pirates of pirates. Holland quickly became the center of European trade. In 1500, Holland had only 1 million inhabitants. After 150 years there were already twice as many of them. Half the population lived in cities. In the 16th century Holland alone had 1,800 ships, 6 times more than Venice had during its heyday a century earlier.

Great discoveries. Consequences for openers and openers

Columbus's discovery of America marked the beginning of the colonial era. Almost simultaneously, the Portuguese began colonizing Africa. The Spaniards, Portuguese, and then the British, French and Dutch rushed to new lands. At the same time, they considered the indigenous population of these lands as an annoying obstacle to the acquisition of territories or as free labor.

Colonization of America: A Promising Beginning

Already during Columbus's first voyage, the Spaniards “set the tone” for future relations between Europeans and Indians. Columbus wrote in his diary: “The Indians were so simple-minded, and the Spaniards were so greedy and insatiable, that they were not satisfied when the Indians exchanged a piece of glass, a shard broken cup or other insignificant things gave them everything they wanted. But even without giving anything, the Spaniards sought to take and capture everything.”

The proud name “conquistadors” was used by those who came to America after Columbus and established the power of Spain and Portugal in new territories with fire and sword. A hundred years after the discoveries of the Genoese, the American lands, where the Portuguese and Spaniards ruled, changed beyond recognition compared to the pre-Columbian era. The states of the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs collapsed, and less organized and more peace-loving tribes were enslaved even faster. Indigenous people America fell into the hands of the most brutal slave owners that history has ever known. The Indians were deprived of all rights. They were subjected to exorbitant taxes, forced to work in the fields - which henceforth belonged not to them, but to the conquistadors - in mines, and on road construction. Naturally, there was no talk of any introduction of the Indians to civilization. The only thing the Europeans gave their new slaves was Christianity. But the Christianization of the local population was often carried out quite formally: the missionaries did not explain the rules to the Indians

Monument to Christopher Columbus.

Since I am interested in the ancient civilizations of this continent, the answer is obvious to me. But I will try not only to answer the question in detail, but also to talk about how it all began and about the life of Indians today.

Colonization of America

We can say that the history of this continent began from the time the first European set foot on its shores. From that moment on, the active settlement of new lands began by people of different religions and different nationalities. Everyone had their own reason, for example, some wanted to get rich, others were looking for new life, and still others were simply thirsty for adventure. The settlers sought to create new world and, of course, succeeded in this. The first were the Spaniards, who were seduced by wealth, followed by the French and, of course, the British. As they say: “I came, I saw, I conquered”...

Consequences of the discovery of America for the indigenous population

There are many of them, but the key ones can be highlighted. So:

• crisis and death of civilizations;
• extermination of entire nations;
• exploitation by conquerors;
• inciting ethnic conflicts;
• disruption of the natural process of development of peoples;
• destruction of a unique culture.

Life of the indigenous population today

Today the number of indigenous people North America- 7 million people, which is about 2% of the total population. Despite the fact that these people are the true owners of these lands, they received the rights of citizens only in 1925. About 3% of the US territory is occupied by reservations, home to over 500 tribes who are trying not to lose their identity. The largest:

• Cherokee - up to 350,000;
• Navajo - up to 250,000;
• Sioux - up to 100,000.

A number of benefits are assigned to indigenous peoples at the legislative level, for example, free education in universities, but the level of education is extremely low. In addition, each Indian receives a monthly compensation of up to $2000, and government subsidies are sufficient for the reservation. large sums. This leads to most of The indigenous population practically does not work and has absolutely no desire to leave their place of residence.

Communication of cultures is inevitable historical process. Great geographical discoveries led to the rise of empires and to their destruction. Much happened with good intentions, others for selfish purposes. Today it is difficult to name who is right and who is wrong, but you can take a short excursion and see how it was. Figuring out which discoveries are considered great and which are not is quite difficult. Therefore, for the sake of fairness, the most significant moments in world history were taken for this article. Discovery of America, Australia and China. In these cases there were bright moments and not so good ones. So…

How Columbus discovered India

The thirst for gold blinded the Europeans. And satisfying it led to catastrophic consequences.

Why did the Aborigines eat Cook?

Contrary to popular belief, Cook was not eaten (if eaten at all) in Australia, but in the southeastern Hawaiian Islands.

Tea and gunpowder - halaso, white man - not very

Before the arrival of Europeans, gunpowder in China was used for fireworks, festivals and even as medicine. And only a small part is for military purposes.