Micah Mercado
APWH – Block 4
CCOT Essay During the age of discovery, many places around the world underwent radical changes in areas ranging from politics to economics and to social concepts. From 1492 to 1750, the Atlantic world experienced social and economic changes of demographics and agricultural diffusion respectively while retaining an ag-based economy and patriarchal society along with Western Europe remaining dominant.
The Atlantic world’s demographics and agriculture changed when they came in contact with Europe. Through exploration in search of a new trade route did the demographics in the Atlantic world change. With the addition of European blood came new social classes like mulatto, mestizo, and peninsulars that not only changed the demographics but also the social hierarchy of places in Latin America. This change in demographics happened as a result of two different people groups mixing and integrating into society. As social structure changed so did agriculture. Through the triangular trade and Columbian Exchange new crops like garlic, millet, citrus, and many others were added in the pool of new world crops. Agricultural diffusion between new and old world occurred as a result of motivation for new opportunities in economic profit. Contact with Europe led to change in the new world’s social structure and agricultural crop pool.
Not only did changes occur but some remained continuous in terms of an agriculture-based economy and patriarchal society. Agriculture was still prominent in the Atlantic world even after European contact due to it being the most efficient and effective as Capitalism was not ubiquitous at the time. This is because agriculture has been a main source of profit along with the