Part A
Look at the change in population in Europe from 1300 to 1400, during the Black Death epidemic. Use a calculator to
determine the percentage that the population declined between those two centuries. To get the answer, you need to
subtract the population between the two centuries. Then, divide this difference in the population with the population in
the year 1300. Finally, multiply by 100 to get the decline in percentage.
Next, by using the same formula noted above, calculate the percentage that the population dropped in the Americas from
1500 to 1600, during the Columbian Exchange era. Which region of the world experienced a greater population decline?
Based on this fact, what can you infer about the spread of disease because of global trade in Europe compared to the
Americas?