Drugs

A great deal of attention is paid to the terrible death toll among the native inhabitants of the New World caused by the European's introduction of new diseases for which they had no immunity. It should also be noted that over half of the Europeans coming to the Americas died within a year of their arrival, usually from some fever, and that the death toll among Europeans in the interior of Africa was so great that it remained largely unexplored by them until well into the 19th century. The Europeans were quick to use native remedies for their ailments, and the bark of the chincona tree -- from which quinine was extracted -- was of great help to them. The medical establishment of Europe resisted the introduction of these new drugs, however, and it was not until the 1830's, for instance, that quinine was brought into general use. This lag has continued to be the case. It was only in 1952, for instance, that Western medical researchers recognized the value of Rauwolfia, a root that the inhabitants of India had chewed to relieve nervousness for centuries. The active substance was extracted from the root and sold as miltown, the first tranquilizer. Given this general resistance to "native remedies," the medicines and medical techniques of the new lands had relatively little effect on Europe. The importance of the drugs of the new worlds lay in another direction.
We have noted that medieval Europeans displayed violent swings of emotions. Part of this may have been simply a difference in cultural norms, but it should be noted that the men and women of medieval Europe had relatively little personal control over their states of mind. Like most other parts of the world, the Europeans had an effective depressant in alcohol, but, unlike any other of the world's civilization, they did not have an alkaloid stimulant. These were quickly important from their native lands, and their use swiftly spread. The first was cocoa from the Aztecs, a rich source of caffeine, and Europeans began their long love affair with chocolate. Coming next were coffee, another source of caffeine, from the Near East, and tobacco, adding nicotine to the Europeans' personal stash of drugs. Finally tea from the Far East introduced another potent source of caffeine. The Europeans developed the custom of mixing caffeine with sugar, an import from India and the Near East, a practice that cut the bitterness of the drink and enhanced its effectiveness.

At the same time, coca leaves from South America yielded cocaine, opium from Far Eastern poppies provided both opium itself and morphine, and hashish from the Near East offered a potent form of marijuana. The use of these narcotics and depressants was widespread until well into the 19th century. It's said that Coca-Cola started out as a medicinal concoction laced with cocaine, and was guaranteed to slow you down, but, when such patent medicines became illegal, the company substituted caffeine for cocaine and guaranteed that their drink would pep you up.

In any event, the exploitation of lands beyond the sea gave Europeans a variety of potent stimulants and depressants, and they now had some control over their moods. Western culture has continued this practice, and few of us go through a day without a smoke, a coke, a cup of coffee, or a candy bar. It is difficult to imagine what people might be like if they did not have easy access to these New World drugs.

Industrial Materials

Less dramatic than the influx of gold and silver, but perhaps more important in the long run were the raw materials extracted from the new lands. The most important single industry in medieval Europe was the manufacture of cloth, and the manufacturers were always looking for colorful dyes that would not fade or wash out. They found them in the New World. Brazil is named after a tree in the Near East, the bark of which produced a good red dye; and the islands off the Carolina coast in North America were found to be a good source of a rich and relatively permanent blue dye called indigo. Europe was almost deforested, and was quick to import American wood. Most North American colonists were expected to unload their belongings from their ship and then fill it with shingles for its return voyage. Tall oaks and pines allowed the Europeans to build larger ships, and they were quick to extract barrels of pitch and turpentine from the pines and spruces of the New World. American furs were popular for both clothing and the making of felt. All of the colonial powers anxiously sought for deposits of salt, and most were able to find them.
This list could be extended greatly, but the point should be obvious. European manufacture had been woefully short of industrial materials. The resources of the New World gave it the supplies it needed to produce the surplus necessary to begin a profitable trade with the other parts of the world, parts that Europe had not be able to conquer as it had the Americas.