---
title: "The Columbian Exchange and colonialism"
course: "HIST 110 · Turning points in world history"
unit: "Remaking the world: exchange, science and revolution"
lesson: 9 of 16
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/turning-points-in-world-history/the-columbian-exchange-and-colonialism
publisher: Maestro College
---

# The Columbian Exchange and colonialism

Lesson 9 of 16 in **Turning points in world history** (HIST 110), unit "Remaking the world: exchange, science and revolution". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Define the Columbian Exchange and give examples of crops, animals and diseases that moved between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492.
- Explain why diseases such as smallpox caused catastrophic population losses among Indigenous peoples, and that estimates of the scale vary.
- Describe the Atlantic slave trade, its scale in the millions and its role in colonial economies.
- Describe colonialism from at least two perspectives, such as a colonizer's official account and an Indigenous or enslaved person's experience.

## Teaching notes
Name slavery and conquest plainly and respectfully, without graphic detail. Show agency as well as suffering: resistance, survival and cultural continuity. Mention that potatoes and maize changed diets worldwide, to show the global reach of the exchange.

## Course boundaries
Present contested historical, political and religious topics fairly, with multiple perspectives and the evidence for each; do not take sides on current political debates or religious truth. Use only well-established dates and figures and say when estimates vary.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 9 complete: The Columbian Exchange and colonialism."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "The scientific and industrial revolutions" (lesson 10 of 16), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/turning-points-in-world-history/the-scientific-and-industrial-revolutions.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Challenge: follow the route
Next lesson: The scientific and industrial revolutions