Question

How did european exploration benefit the New world and its occupants?

Answer 1

The only major clear and broad benefit of which I can think is the introduction of the horse to the Plains Indians by the early Spanish explorers. After that, it was kind of downhill, as huge numbers died from diseases imported by Europeans explorers, and many of the rest had their lives and lifestyles seriously disrupted. The relatively few who survived acquired the benefits of advanced technology, of course. But broadly speaking I would say after the onset of serious colonization of North America by the English it was pretty steadily downhilll for most of them.

One can also argue that the Spanish did a fair amount of good for the typical peasant of Mesoamerica by bringing down the terror regime of the Aztecs, also.

Answer 2

Put simply, 'benefit' is a loaded term. It really depends from which perspective you look at things.

From the perspective of the Europeans, the native inhabitants of the New World benefited from access to 'modern society' and the 'correct religion'.

However, given that the native inhabitants were probably quite happy before the Europeans arrived I would have a hard time saying that they perceived these things as beneficial. For one, the Europeans brought with them diseases that wiped out a staggering proportion of the population. How's that for a benefit? I think this problem alone outweighs many of the things they gained.