While both the Americans and Europeans demonstrated in regards to their culture and identity, the landing of Columbus brought about the Atlantic Revolution. Through this, significant demographic shifts, economic and social developments initiated changes in peopling and trade patterns, affecting work exchange and technology.
The creation of mercantilism is just one example of the effects of the year 1492. The definition of mercantilism is the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism. In other words, when a mother country benefits off a colony by utilizing their natural resources and turning them into finished products and selling them back to the colony in order to make a profit. The concept of mercantilism did not exist until the Europeans started to take advantage the Natives, who they referred to as Indians.
Prior to 1492, the Europeans had never made contact with the Americas due to the decentralized nature of society and politics. Feudalism restricted expansion as self-sufficient serfdoms had been established. While the Natives greeted by Europeans with hospitality, the Europeans, awed by the abundance of natural resources and cheap labor, immediately recognized an opportunity to take advantage, undermining native culture at times. One of the most prominent effects of the collision between the two worlds had been the demographic changes brought along by the established “Columbian Exchange”. In the self-sufficient societies of the Natives, driven by desire and the need to pay back investment because of the lack of gold predicted, Columbus sought an abundant supply of cheap labor, inflicting cruel practices upon the Natives to mine metals and work fields such as the encomienda system. Although the Natives were healthy and fit societies, disease soon ravaged their regions perished their populations. Europeans traveled to the Americas carrying diseases which they had become immune to, with their crews and animals. While the Europeans were unaware of the possible side effects of the spread of smallpox and other diseases, it had catastrophic consequences. By the late 1500’s more than 96% of the Native tribes had been wiped out, resulting in the decline of native populations and culture. Due to this, the European nations had access to the plenty natural resources present, allowing for the recovery of European society to an extent of overpopulation, thus, seeking the opportunity for economic gain and healthier lifestyle, they began to migrate to the Americas. The merchants could be considered one of the most willing to migrate because of the economic potential of initiating trade between the two hemispheres. The social organizations of European and Native culture were also rather polar, promoting Europeans to utilize force and use the spread of the Christian faith as justification of imposing cruel methods and forced conversions. While demographic pressure within Europe began to increase, and the populations within the Americas began to decrease, the merchants required another source of cheap labor. This desire would result in the establishment of the Atlantic Slave Trade. The merchants would utilize indentured slavery in order to work their economic systems, forcing thousands of African slaves to migrate over to the Americas. Often documented in an eurocentric view, the presence of slavery prior to European intervention within Africa is often left out. Nonetheless, the Atlantic Slave Trade establish migratory trends between Africa and the Americas to meet the demand for luxurious goods and items. This presence of a variety of cultures within the Americas also led to stratification of society, resulting in roles such as peninsulares and mestizos. Demographic pressures had also been the result of conflict between Europeans, Natives and Africans, which were justified by the European as methods of spreading Christianity. European explorers used this cover-up due to its appeal for the public in European societies, promoting investment for grander voyages and economic developments overseas. These demographic trends were the results of factors such as disease, economic demand, and the transfer of goods and animals to and from the Americas.
Although often viewed in an euro-centric perspective, the Atlantic Revolution had truly transformed the global economy while initiating significant changes in the cultural and demographic makeup of the Western hemisphere, the European continent and Africa. The Columbian Exchange and its lasting effects on global communication, exploration and settlement serves as evidence that 1492 had been a turning point in history.