3G.+Impact+of+Demographic+&+Environmental+Changes

Group 2 Analyze the impact of demographic and enviornmental changes, including the spread of diseases, animal use, growth of new crops and population trends.
 * Start at page 629 in book


 * Spread of Diseases**
 * -**General info
 * Europeans brought many diseases to the Americas that the Americans were not immune to
 * Diseases included small pox, measels, typhus, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever
 * Long iscolation from the old world along with the lack of domesticated animals meant that the natives didn't have immunities to any of the diseases

-Enviornmental Changes
 * Since the diseases were killing off so many natives there was a significant labor shortage which left the crops/land unattended to
 * This labor shortage led to the outsourcing of immigrants and African slaves

-Demographic Changes []
 * Collapse of Native American societies
 * Up to 90% of the population died due to diseases
 * Native American population finally started to increase in some areas in the late 17th century

-General Info
 * Animal Use**
 * Horses, pigs, cattle, goats and sheep were all new to the Americas
 * These animals' populations grew fast in the Americas' enviornment because they had no natural predators
 * These animals cased the making ranching economies, cowboy cultures, and the transformation of Native American societies

-Enviornmental Changes
 * Bringing new animals to the Americas made the enviornment less agricultural and more pastoral based
 * The enviornment now had to adapt to the new species coming in

-Demographic Changes
 * Animals brought over many diseases that killed off a lot of the Native American population, as stated earlier
 * Animals also made hard labor easier on humans, which would eventually increase their life expectancy
 * Humans didn't have to hunt for their meat anymore, they could now raise it
 * Animals also helped in harvesting crops
 * [|http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com]**
 * [|http://cross-stitchers-club.com]**

-General Info
 * Growth of New Crops**
 * The spread of crops saw a definite impact on the world. As Foods such as Sugar, cotton, and corn were traded around the world, Europeans who traded for them changed their methods for obtaining them.
 * Many found the right climate from growing many of the goods from the east over in the Americas. Many sailed overseas and opened colonies and plantations.
 * The massive influx of white Europeans would later have consequences on both the native peoples and the native flora and fauna.

[] [|http://www.tehrantimes.com] [|http://etc.usf.edu] -Environmental Changes
 * 1) imported flora grew rapidly because of the Americas suitable climate.
 * 2) Most crops had very fertile soil to grow in since it was not very farmed in the past.
 * 3) Large abundence of Slave labor meant that crops could be grown more than once a year.
 * 4) Some flora was agressive toward native flora (i.e. Kudzu).

-Demographic Changes
 * The creation of plantations with Asian goods (i.e. sugar, spices, tobacco.) led to the finality of cutting out the middle man in the spice trade and later saw European withdraw from areas of the pacific since many goods were easier and cheaper to obtain in the Americas.
 * Increase in slave labor and creation of more plantations.
 * More land seized from natives for farms, homes, etc.

- General Info
 * Population Trends**


 * The Great Dying caused by the arrival of the Europeans resulted in the death of a great number of Native Americans. This was a significant drop in the numbers of indigenous people that is difficult to compare to another event in history. In need of a workforce that could survive longer, the Europeans also brought to the Americas a considerable amount of Africans through the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (1).

- Environmental Changes


 * This new population brought with it new animals and new ways of farming. Now sugar and cotton were being produced in the Americas and the land was being worked by animals never seen there before.

- Demographic Changes


 * The distribution of races changed drastically during this period in the Americas. While Native American populations dropped, the white Europeans rose in number as they settled.
 * African people brought over as slaves became another portion of the population with over 300,000 transported to the United States alone (2).
 * Another ethnic group in the Americas would be the people born of mixed race. The distribution of these races was different depending on the area. For example, in Brazil, African people accounted for 49.8% of the population while in Highland Spanish America they represented only 11.9% (1).

Sources: 1. Ways of the World by Robert W. Strayer 2. []

