Name _____________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
Expansion, Exploration, and Encounters
Lesson 7
The Columbian Exchange and
Global Trade
Key Terms and People
Columbian Exchange global transfer of foods, plants, and animals during the
colonization of the Americas
capitalism economic system based on private ownership and the investment of
wealth for profit
joint-stock company company in which people pooled their wealth for a
common purpose
mercantilism economic policy of increasing wealth and power by obtaining large
amounts of gold and silver and selling more goods than are bought
favorable balance of trade condition resulting from selling more goods than
are bought
Before You Read
In the last lesson, you read about the Atlantic slave trade.
In this lesson, you will read about other kinds of trade.
As You Read
Use a chart to take notes on how the Columbian Exchange and
global trade changed Europe.
THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE until the Europeans brought them.
What was the Columbian Exchange? Deadly illnesses also moved to the
There was constant movement of Americas. They killed a large part of the
people and products from Europe and Native American population.
Africa to the Americas. The large-scale 1. What did the Columbian Exchange
transfer of foods, plants, and animals take from the Americas, and what
was called the Columbian Exchange. did it bring?
Important foods such as corn and
potatoes were taken from the Americas
to Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Some foods moved from the Old
World to the New. Bananas, black-eyed
peas, and yams were taken from Africa
to the Americas. Cattle, pigs, and horses
had never been seen in the Americas
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
238 Guided Reading Workbook
Name _____________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
Lesson 7, continued
GLOBAL TRADE to this theory, a country’s power
How did business change? depended on its wealth. Getting more
The settling of the Americas and the gold and silver increased a country’s
growth of trade started an economic wealth; so did selling more goods than it
revolution. This revolution led to new bought. Selling more than it buys results
business practices still followed today. in a favorable balance of trade for a
One was the rise of an economic system country. Colonies played an important
called capitalism. It is based on private role because they provided goods that
ownership and the right of a business to could be sold in trade.
earn a profit on money invested. The American colonies changed
Another new business idea was the European society. Merchants grew
joint-stock company. In this type of wealthy and powerful. Towns and cities
company, many investors pool their grew larger. Still, most people lived in
money to start a business and share in the countryside, farmed for a living, and
the profits. were poor.
2. What is capitalism? 3. Why were colonies important to
European mercantilism?
THE GROWTH OF MERCANTILISM
Why were colonies important in
mercantilism?
During the Commercial Revolution,
European governments began to follow
an idea called mercantilism. According
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
239 Guided Reading Workbook
Name _____________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
Lesson 7, continued
As you read, note some cause-and-effect relationships relating to the
European colonization of the Americas.
Causes Event/Trend Effects
1. Columbian Exchange
2. Global trade
3. Inflation
4. Formation of joint-stock
companies
5. Growth of mercantilism
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
240 Guided Reading Workbook
