matter of nutritious Indian crops in return for virulent European diseases. Just how many Native Americans died from these epidemics has been a matter of fierce debate among historians, with "low counters" accusing "high counters" of conjuring “numbers from nowhere." An estimate midway between the extremes suggests that the Indian population of all the Americas declined from 50 million in 1492 to 5 million by 1650. On the assumption that about a tenth of the natives lived north of Mexico, this means that by the mid- seventeenth century the Indian population of what is now the United States and Canada was only about 500,000. American nationalists often talked about their country as "virgin land," almost untouched by human beings, but given what we now know about its population history, the term "widowed land" seems more appropriate. (Reynolds, 2009, pp. 9-11) Which of the following best encapsulates the author's thesis regarding the Columbian exchange? (a) It resulted in the mutual exchange of hitherto unknown diseases. (b) It enabled the European population to increase due to the import of new crops. (c) It resulted in an unknown number of deaths among the indigenous populations. (d) It largely benefitted Europeans at the expense of the indigenous populations.

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1. Read the following passage:
Europeans therefore imported from the Native Americans what proved some of the most
basic foodstuffs of the modern world. The new crops were much more productive than the
traditional ones: Maize and potatoes, for instance, have about a 50 percent higher calorific
yield per acre than wheat, oats, or barley. Over a couple of centuries these new foods
played an important role in the dramatic growth in Europe's population.
The terms of trade were not, of course, entirely beneficial to the Old World. Among
the imports one must include tobacco, which has accounted for millions of premature
deaths over the centuries. ... Also on the debit side is the possibility that Columbus and
his sailors brought back syphilis from the New World (the first recorded European
epidemic occurred in 1494-1495), but this remains a matter of dispute. In any case, the
impact of syphilis hardly compares with the diseases the Europeans took west across the
Atlantic. Many Amerindian groups today regard Columbus as the inaugurator of wholesale
genocide.
The terms of the "Columbian exchange" were therefore very one-sided: mostly a
matter of nutritious Indian crops in return for virulent European diseases. Just how many
Native Americans died from these epidemics has been a matter of fierce debate among
historians, with "low counters" accusing "high counters" of conjuring "numbers from
nowhere." An estimate midway between the extremes suggests that the Indian population
of all the Americas declined from 50 million in 1492 to 5 million by 1650. On the assumption
that about a tenth of the natives lived north of Mexico, this means that by the mid-
seventeenth century the Indian population of what is now the United States and Canada
was only about 500,000. American nationalists often talked about their country as "virgin
land," almost untouched by human beings, but given what we now know about its
population history, the term "widowed land" seems more appropriate. (Reynolds, 2009,
pp. 9-11)
Which of the following best encapsulates the author's thesis regarding the Columbian
exchange?
(a) It resulted in the mutual exchange of hitherto unknown diseases.
(b) It enabled the European population to increase due to the import of new crops.
(c) It resulted in an unknown number of deaths among the indigenous populations.
(d) It largely benefitted Europeans at the expense of the indigenous populations.
Transcribed Image Text:1. Read the following passage: Europeans therefore imported from the Native Americans what proved some of the most basic foodstuffs of the modern world. The new crops were much more productive than the traditional ones: Maize and potatoes, for instance, have about a 50 percent higher calorific yield per acre than wheat, oats, or barley. Over a couple of centuries these new foods played an important role in the dramatic growth in Europe's population. The terms of trade were not, of course, entirely beneficial to the Old World. Among the imports one must include tobacco, which has accounted for millions of premature deaths over the centuries. ... Also on the debit side is the possibility that Columbus and his sailors brought back syphilis from the New World (the first recorded European epidemic occurred in 1494-1495), but this remains a matter of dispute. In any case, the impact of syphilis hardly compares with the diseases the Europeans took west across the Atlantic. Many Amerindian groups today regard Columbus as the inaugurator of wholesale genocide. The terms of the "Columbian exchange" were therefore very one-sided: mostly a matter of nutritious Indian crops in return for virulent European diseases. Just how many Native Americans died from these epidemics has been a matter of fierce debate among historians, with "low counters" accusing "high counters" of conjuring "numbers from nowhere." An estimate midway between the extremes suggests that the Indian population of all the Americas declined from 50 million in 1492 to 5 million by 1650. On the assumption that about a tenth of the natives lived north of Mexico, this means that by the mid- seventeenth century the Indian population of what is now the United States and Canada was only about 500,000. American nationalists often talked about their country as "virgin land," almost untouched by human beings, but given what we now know about its population history, the term "widowed land" seems more appropriate. (Reynolds, 2009, pp. 9-11) Which of the following best encapsulates the author's thesis regarding the Columbian exchange? (a) It resulted in the mutual exchange of hitherto unknown diseases. (b) It enabled the European population to increase due to the import of new crops. (c) It resulted in an unknown number of deaths among the indigenous populations. (d) It largely benefitted Europeans at the expense of the indigenous populations.
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