JimBowie1958
Old Fogey
- Sep 25, 2011
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In 1400, Western Europe was the backwater of Eurasia. While The rest of Eurasia was ruled by more advanced governments controlling large areas like the Ming Dynasty, the Timurlane kingdom or the Mamelukes, Western Europe was balkanized into little kingdoms that could barely control its own nobility.
The Europeans were at the tail end of the lucrative spice trade. The spices were from Indonesia, India and China to a lesser degree and to get to Europe they either came by the Silk Road to Constantinople, areas controlled by the Byzantines and the Ottomans, or they got to Egypt, controlled by the Mamelukes, and from north Italian city state merchants, Genoa, Venice and Pisa, would put a heavy mark up on them and sell them in the rest of Europe.
Columbus developed 'Celestial Navigation' and this allowed European ships to bypass the Muslim controlled areas and go directly to the Far East and India to get spices and brought wealth and prosperity to Western Europe surpassing what it had under the Romans.
The diet of the common people (peasants) in the Old World was principly chicken, onions, turnips and radishes and barley. What we call corn or wheat was not known to them yet as these came from the new Western World. There was no carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, yams or beans and the improvement in diet that Columbuses efforts brought no doubt raised the average intelligence of the peasant populations. The net result of that was seen in the 1800s as these populations began to demand equality and freedom.
So we have much to thank Columbus for; better navigation techniques, the rise of Western Europe and the development of egalitarian political policies that were driven by healthy clear thinking peasantry that wanted to improve its condition.
So, I say SALUTE! to Mr Columbus, the man who turned the world upside down!
The Europeans were at the tail end of the lucrative spice trade. The spices were from Indonesia, India and China to a lesser degree and to get to Europe they either came by the Silk Road to Constantinople, areas controlled by the Byzantines and the Ottomans, or they got to Egypt, controlled by the Mamelukes, and from north Italian city state merchants, Genoa, Venice and Pisa, would put a heavy mark up on them and sell them in the rest of Europe.
Columbus developed 'Celestial Navigation' and this allowed European ships to bypass the Muslim controlled areas and go directly to the Far East and India to get spices and brought wealth and prosperity to Western Europe surpassing what it had under the Romans.
The diet of the common people (peasants) in the Old World was principly chicken, onions, turnips and radishes and barley. What we call corn or wheat was not known to them yet as these came from the new Western World. There was no carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, yams or beans and the improvement in diet that Columbuses efforts brought no doubt raised the average intelligence of the peasant populations. The net result of that was seen in the 1800s as these populations began to demand equality and freedom.
So we have much to thank Columbus for; better navigation techniques, the rise of Western Europe and the development of egalitarian political policies that were driven by healthy clear thinking peasantry that wanted to improve its condition.
So, I say SALUTE! to Mr Columbus, the man who turned the world upside down!