In what ways were the voyages of Columbus a major turning point in history?

Answer 1

The obvious answer is that Columbus "discovering" the Americas opened the way for European influences which would markedly alter the history and culture of the Americas with France, Britain, Spain and to a lesser extent the Netherlands and Portugal expanding their empires to include various parts of the countries that side of the Atlantic. They brought their cultures and religions there and to a large extent displaced the indigenous peoples.

I had not heard of the Columbian exchange before but found the article below which goes into some detail about it.

Answer 2

Although Columbus was sponsored by the Spanish crown to find a better route to the far east, he found something unexpected and unique to European society. He brought back information on a land with unusual people, unusual territory with unusual features. He also brought back the promise of gold and the promise of still locating the new route to Asia. It was the promise of gold in the new land that spread through Europe and began the major explorations of the new world and the Pacific Ocean.

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Answer 3

It was not so much a turning point in world history because he failed to reach Asia, but it was a turning point in the history of Native American tribes. He was the first European contact and with him came sickness, discrimination, death and a eventual loss of land. A way of life was lost on that day on Hispinola and the ripples of it still echo today.

Answer 4

Yes because if he didn't discover it there would be no America. There would be only Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.