ABSTRACT
The Columbian voyages lead to a series of exchanges between the Eastern and Western hemispheres that transformed the world. They included foods, cultures, diseases, technologies, and massive amounts of transplanted people. This chapter identifies the Columbian Exchange including the European colonization of the Americas as the start of the first wave of global integration. Significant characteristics distinguish this wave from subsequent waves of global integration that intensified some of the developments. The Colombian Exchange precipitated European colonization in the Western hemisphere in ways that were unheard of either before or after in human history. Religion, especially Roman Catholicism, was used as an agent of colonialism, although local church officials sometimes interceded in an effort to protect converts from abuse. In the Spanish colonies, missionaries often followed directly after gold seeking explorers. Religion, especially Roman Catholicism, was used as an agent of colonialism, although local church officials sometimes interceded in an effort to protect converts from abuse.
