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Pros And Cons Of Collision Of Worlds

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On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus, and his crew came, upon some islands that they believed to be part of India. Not long after it was revealed that they had in fact come across outlying islands of an entire continent unknown--to most Europeans--before then. Columbus’s “discovery” resulted in the connecting of three landmasses, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This affiliation--referred to by historians as “The Collision of Worlds”--allowed for a network of trade to erupt across the Atlantic. It was not favorable to all, though. The collision of worlds was both, revolutionizing and desolating for the Americas due to new wares, crops, and disease. It was beneficial to small portions of Africa and its inhabitants, but dreadful for a vast …show more content…

Africa did not experience the same advantages of the collision that the Americas did because they already had gateways to civilized and advanced societies through Spain, Portugal, and the Middle East. Still, it could be argued that the collision did benefit Africa’s economy. It allowed for an entire new industry, that of capturing, transporting, and selling slaves. Many African lives were ripped apart by the collision of worlds, but it also created a booming industry of slave trading in Africa--regardless of the morality of slavery. Europe benefited the most from the collision of worlds. The Americas offered an abundance of land, new crops, and precious metals. Entire cities just sat in wait to be conquered. The Americas also provided millions of people to convert to Catholicism. Africa itself presented some amount of riches and a whole trove of slave laborers to build and farm the new world. Europe benefited from the collision far more than Africa or the Americas and went on to utilize the assets found Africa and the Americas to build empires. The collision of worlds was not beneficial for all parties. However, due to a massive influx of conquerable land, it was the first step towards the colonization of the Americas, and eventually the new trading trading routes would create the triangle

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