How did the discovery of the Americas impacted European life Essay

How did the discovery of the Americas impacted European life - Essay Example In this respect, Columbus’ discovery of a New World was a disappointment, because he had gone in search of western access to Japan and India. He failed to return to Spain loaded with spices. But next Spanish-backed explorations soon proved the value of the newly discovered lands (Kishlansky 358). The discoveries of Americas in the first place influenced the economic development of Europe. There began to emerge a colonial system that has accelerated the capitalist production in Western Europe and contributed to the accumulation of the large sums of money in the hands of bourgeoisie. The latter opened the door to the organization of the large enterprises. The discovery of new lands could not but influence the worldview of the European people, their religious, philosophical and religious thought. The discovery of Americas had also a huge impact on the European habits, because the first traders brought to Europe such integral parts of everyday life like chocolate and tobacco. Thes e products were unknown in Europe before. The influence of tobacco and drinking chocolate could not be questioned. Thus, the current paper discusses the impact that the discovery of Americas had on the Western European economy, on religious and philosophical thought, and on people’s everyday habits in the early modern period. ... The monopoly on these new markets guaranteed the rapid accumulation of capital in the countries of the Western Europe. There began the so-called â€Å"price revolution† (Fischer 68). It was caused by the import of large amounts of American gold and silver to Europe. During the 14th century the total amount of hard money in Europe increased more than 4 times. The large inflow of relatively cheap gold and silver led to the sharp drop of their value and to the significant increase in prices for agricultural and industrial products. The revolution in pries has strengthened the urban and rural bourgeoisie and advanced their incomes. The feudal lords were broken. The poorest peasants and workers suffered great damages due to the price revolution. The prices for agricultural products have grown to a much greater extent than for the luxuries (Fischer 77). In Spain, for example, due to the increasing costs a number of goods became uncompetitive. This was one of the reasons for the decl ine of the industry and commerce in this country. However, due to the same reasons the Dutch merchants came at the international stage as the leading trade agents. Gold inflation had a great impact on the industrial development, accelerating the transition to capitalism manufacturing. There was a sharp decline in the wages of the workers. Thought, the nominal value of the wages increased, it was not sufficient in comparison with price increases. In France, price revolution lead to the numerous peasants’ revolts, because they could not cope with burdensome taxes and rent they had to pay their lords. Naturally, when the prices for the goods of the first necessity became impossible, it led to the increasing discontent among masses (Spielvogel