After the 15th Century, history began to move really fast in the matter of the things that happened. It is really important this part of the history because it totally changed the way of life and it gives an explanation of why life is like it is in our days. This big change didn’t happen at once. Historians, after studying and trying to find the reasons of this change came up with five foundations. They are The Columbian Exchange, Europe Confronts the World, The Industrial Revolution, The Nationalism and Democracy and Mass Transportation & Communication. They are totally different, took place in different years and places but they all are ingredients of the cake that we call Modern World. The first fundamental, Columbian Exchange, refers to Columbus who was responsible for bringing Europeans to the Western Hemisphere in the sixteenth century. The discovey of America was one of the most important things that ever happened. It is really ironic because Columbus never abandoned the belief that he had reached Asia. After Columbus's voyages many more European ships went back and forth between the New World and the old continents of Africa and Europe exchanging animals, people, germs, and food. When contact was made with the new world, a whole cornucopia of new foods that we eat today like beans, cacao, corn, peanuts just to name a few, were introduced to the explorers. These explorers would bring back these foods, and distribute them all over the world. Exchange means to give and receive reciprocally. The Spanish ships were like Noah's Ark because they brought so many samples of European flora and fauna to reproduce in the New World. The Europeans brought with them the diseases too. The native Americans had never been exposed to European germs; therefore, they died in great numbers, making it easier for the Europeans to conquer them and settle on their vacated land. The idea of the “Columbian Exchange” was a big re...
