How did Europe and the world change after Columbus?

TTHE CENTURIES-OLD AFROEURASIAN TRADE WORLD was forever changed by the European voyages of discovery and their aftermath. For the first time, a truly global economy emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The ancient civilizations of Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia confronted one another in new and rapidly evolving ways. Those confrontations often led to conquest and exploitation, but they also contributed to cultural exchange and renewal.

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Silver Coin from PotosíAfter the discovery of the Americas, a wave of new items entered European markets, silver foremost among them. The incredibly rich silver mines at Potosí (in modern-day Bolivia) were the source of this eight-reale coin struck at the mine during the reign of Charles II. Such coins were the original “pieces of eight” prized by pirates and adventurers. (Hoberman Collection/SuperStock)