The expansion of transatlantic commerce during the sixteenth century did not merely link distant markets; it initiated an ecological convergence that fundamentally restructured global agriculture and demography. The introduction of American cultivars—specifically maize, potatoes, and manioc—to Afro-Eurasia catalyzed a demographic revolution by providing highly caloric, resilient food sources that could thrive in soils unsuitable for traditional Old World staples. Conversely, the introduction of European livestock and agricultural techniques to the Americas initiated a rapid ecological transformation, as domesticated animals cleared indigenous flora and altered native ecosystems. This dual exchange of biological organisms established a highly integrated, globalized economy while simultaneously creating severe demographic imbalances, devastating indigenous communities through pathogens while fueling population growth across the Old World.
Which of the following developments in the period 1491–1607 best illustrates the ecological transformations in the Americas described in the passage?
- AThe widespread cultivation of American crops like wheat and sugarcane in Europe, which sparked a population boom among urban laborers.
- BThe creation of the encomienda system, which served as a formal land distribution mechanism to parcel out agricultural territory to Spanish colonists.
- The introduction of domesticated Old World livestock, which transformed native landscapes and disrupted traditional Indigenous agricultural practices.Answer
- DThe widespread abandonment of farming in favor of a uniform nomadic lifestyle by Indigenous societies across North America after the introduction of the horse.