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Was European exploration a good thing?

It can certainly be argued that European exploration was a good thing for Europeans. Exploration contributed to rapid and profound economic expansion by pumping massive amounts of wealth into the European economy. The influx of new crops like potatoes and corn contributed to rapid population growth and longer lifespans for European peoples. The knowledge and contact with other peoples gained through exploration was arguably instrumental in the so-called Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. But whatever gains were made by Europeans must be balanced against the almost inconceivable costs borne by millions of Native and African peoples. Native Americans suffered staggering population losses (perhaps as high as 90% of their pre-contact numbers) due to contact with European disease. Contact with Europeans also set a process in motion by which virtually all indigenous Americans were driven from their lands. European exploration also created the Atlantic slave trade, which saw millions of African people kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Americas. So if exploration was "good" for Europeans, it was disastrous for many ordinary West African people and for almost all Native Americans.

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