HELP HURRY Period 1 Short Answer

“The Columbian connection had a devastating effect on the
indigenous human societies of the Americas. . . . New disease
vectors suddenly introduced into the vulnerable populations of
the New World began a sequence of horrific pandemics. Rapidly
spreading infectious disease devastated indigenous peoples of the
New World. It thinned their numbers, destroyed their institutions,
and broke their resistance to Spanish aggression. . . . Demographic
recovery after major pandemics was hindered by reduced fertility,
stillbirths, and other physical effects, as well as by cultural
depression, hopelessness, and malaise resulting from Spanish
colonial domination.”
-John R. Richards, The Unending Frontier, 2006.

“The New World provided soils that were very suitable for the
cultivation of a variety of Old World products, . . . The increased
supply lowered the prices of these products significantly, making
them affordable to the general population for the first time in
history. The production of these products also resulted in large
inflows of profits back to Europe, which some have argued fueled
the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Europe. The Old World
gained access to new crops that were widely adopted. . . . The
improvement in agricultural productivity . . . had significant
effects on historic population growth and urbanization.”
-Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian, “The Columbian Exchange,” 2010.

1. Briefly explain ONE specific historical difference between Richards’s and Nunn and Qian’s interpretations.
2. Briefly explain how ONE specific historical event or development not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts could be used to support Richards’s interpretation.
3. Briefly explain how ONE specific historical event or development not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts could be used to support Nunn and Qian’s interpretation.