1.

What was the Columbian Exchange and what role did cultural
diffusion play in that process?
a. The Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of ideas,
technology, food, disease, and people that occurred between
Europe and the Americas following the discovery of the New
World by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The large cultural
diffusion between the Europeans and Native Americans led to
equally extreme changes. The Native Americans experienced
greater social and economic change because it had the lesser
developed collective knowledge base.
2. What role did disease play in the Columbian Exchange?
a. As Europeans arrived in the New World, Native American
immune systems were unable to defend against European
diseases, including smallpox, measles, and chickenpox. The
international slave trade also introduced yellow fever and
malaria to the New World. Native Americans were most affected
by the spread of disease.
3. What two competing interpretations does the video give of the
colonial period?
a. The video mentions that some view the colonial period as only
solely of invasion while others view it as the time of widespread
economic and political growth.