Consequences Of Columbus’ Trips

One of the most famous people in history is Christopher Columbus. He was a man who discover America. His voyage changed the country, but also created some problems.

Columbus’s trip changed world history and allowed European influence to expand to other continents. On August 3, 1492, Columbus took 87 sailors from Spain and three ships cross the Atlantic and eventually discovered America. The main islands he passed from include the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Dominica and Trinidad. His achievement made everyone know him because it was the first time for European to make a continuous contact between Europe and America and to open up European explorations and colonization. This contact allowed trade to develop. Columbus brought to Europe unknown goods such as sugar, cocoa and corn which quickly became very popular. The European started selling to America coffee, animals like cows, horses and chickens and many more. This made both American and European merchant rich and created a profitable relationship. In addition, his voyage expanded the power of Spain by conquering areas and having them as colonies. Furthermore, when he arrived to America, he wanted local people to believe in Christianity. Finally, an exchanged of idea and cultures between the two worlds helped civilization develop further.

Despite the numerous advantage of Columbus trips, there also were some serious disadvantages. First, when Columbus arrived to America, some new diseases were spread that local people had never seen before, like smallpox and tetanus. These diseases killed thousands of people. Second, after Columbus arrived, European colonists focused on their plantations and mining activities. In the beginning, they hired European people to plant or mine, but they had contract, so after this period, they returned to European. The colonists then found a new method, they brought black men from Africa instead of them and had them as slaves. Also many were brought to Europe and sold. Thirdly, although, Columbus brought his country’s culture or history to America, he also threatened local people by forcing them to give up their own beliefs and culture and convert to Christianity.

To sum up, Columbus had advantages, mainly connecting the old world to the new one. Unfortunately, this caused many problems to thousands of people by killing them or enslaving them. In my own opinion, Columbus’s voyage proved beneficial because it showed people a new continent and improved our knowledge of geography. Moreover, when Europeans went to America, they had new chance to develop and to have a better future.