PLANTS AND DISEASES IN THE WESTERN WORLD In 1215, a man named Marco Polo embarked on a journey towards Western Asia and China. His reason for going to Asia was to gain spices, silks, and other luxurious items only the Asians made. Along his journey, Polo soon realized that the Earth was larger than he thought and that there must be some easier way to get to china. Not too long after his journey, the Ottoman Turks conquouered Constantinople. Constantinople (present day Istanbul) is the city, in Turkey, that divides Eastern Europe from Western Asia. Constantinople (which was previously held by European Christians) was a major port and trading center for the Europeans. It was also a major turnpike in the only safe route to Asia. Basically, the only way one could get to Asia, was through Constantinople. Since the Ottoman Turks held this city and charged outrageous prices on goods, another route to Asia was sought out by the Europeans. Vasco De Gamma found a water route, around Africa, to get to Asia. But it was Christopher Columbus’s choice in a water route to Asia that changed the world forever. Columbus sailed west, along the Atlantic, to get to Eastern Asia. However, Columbus did not know there was a HUGE landmass blocking him from Asia. This landmass was North and South America. Columbus landed on Barbados and brought with him some fellow sailors, food, and a few personal items. However. Columbus did not know that by landing on Barbados, he would create a European frenzy to conqueror the “New World”. By the 1700’s Europeans accomplished this goal. They accomplished this goal with the help of thousands of Europeans with guns and the help of foreign organisms and diseases. If these organisms and diseases did not sack the Natives the way they did, maybe today we would be speaking a Native language instead of English.The very first organisms that reached the New World were, of course, hu...
