History 2013

Paper 2
2a. Four agricultural crops grown by the Indigenous People to which the Europeans were
introduced are sugar, bananas, rice and indigo.
2b. Three reasons why Europeans in the New World became dependent on the food of the
Indigenous People are the availability, their taste preference and the ability to be preserved.
Availability- The Indigenous people made food from the natural resources available. They
had access to crops and animals in which they would grow and rear, respectfully. This meant
that would be able to cook meals regularly, due to the amount of food they produced
regularly. This is one of the reasons why the Europeans depended so highly on the
Indigenous People for food.
Ability to be preserved- The indigenous people had access to food like dried peas, beans and
rice, which can survive through various weather conditions. They also had access to salt and
vinegar which could improve the longevity of foods. The indigenous people knew how to
preserve food, which is another reason why the Europeans depended on them.
Taste preferences- The indigenous peoples cooking style was appealing to the Europeans.
They enjoyed the taste and quality of the meals the Indigenous people made. This is the third
reason why the Europeans depended on the Indigenous people.
2c. The Europeans came in contact with the indigenous people in the late fifteenth century.
The contact the Europeans made with the indigenous people had detrimental effects on their
population. Three effects the Europeans had on the population of the Indigenous people are
the destruction of food crops, disease and stealing of land. These effects nearly wiped out a
large portion of the indigenous people population.
Firstly, an effect that the Europeans had on the population of the Indigenous people when
they came in contact with them were the stealing of land. The Indigenous people were
subsistent farmers and they depended on their families plots of land for food. The Europeans
came and took away the lands that belonged to the Indigenous people. This caused many
indigenous people to starve and eventually die. The loss of land due to theft is one of the
many effects the Europeans had on the Indigenous people.
Secondly, another effect that the Europeans had on the population of the Indigenous people
when they came in contact with them was the destruction of crops. In addition, to the stealing
of land the Europeans also caused the destruction of crops in which the Indigenous people
planted. The Europeans took away the adult indigenous people as slaves which caused the
children to be left behind. The children were unable to take care of the crops, so the crops
eventually died along with the children. Adults who still remained attempted to grow crops,
but the Europeans allowed cattle to gaze on them which destroyed them. The destruction of
crops left the Indigenous people with nothing to eat, this led to them dying of starvation.
Thirdly, the third effect that the Europeans had on the population of the Indigenous people
when they contacted them was the introduction of new diseases. When the Europeans came
in contact with the Indigenous People they brought foreign diseases such as small pox,
measles and the common flu along with them. Due to these diseases being new, the
Indigenous people had no immunity toward them, they began to get sick and die.
3a. Two groups of people that were used as labourers by European settlers before the
importation of Africans are the Caribs and Tainos.
ii. Jamaica and Tobago were two countries which provided logwood.
3b. Three ways in which the dutch assisted French and English settlers in the changeover
from tobacco to sugar in the 1600’s were by providing capital, labour and.
Capital- The Dutch assisted the French and English in the change over by providing them
with capital. The French and English did not have enough money for the start-up of the sugar
industry, so the Dutch took care of all capital expenses.
Labour- During the changeover from tobacco to sugar, the Dutch provided the French and
English with labour. The Dutch provided the English and French with highly skilled, semi-
skilled and non labour along with machinery for the production of sugar. This was one of the
ways in which the Dutch played a big part in the change over from tobacco to sugar.
3c.