European Influence On American Animals In 1491

The goat was the first ruminant to be domesticated. A ruminant is an animal that has more than one compartment in the stomach. Goats began arriving in Plymouth in 1623. In A History of Domesticated Animals, goats were a good source for milk, meat, hides, and some

On the other hand, the Europeans never in their life saw iguanas, armadillos, anacondas in real life, nor the Indians knew what horses, pigs, and chickens were; of course, after the exchange, the Americas were full of these interesting animals from the European culture (Shi and Tindall 37). Pigs, cows, and horses were a new beginning to the Americas,

When the Europeans explored the Americas, they were introduced to new plants, foods, and animals, as well as riches and land. Foods such as corn, white and sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, cacao, fruits,

In the new world, Europeans encountered indigenous plant foods cultivated by Native Americas. These plants were potatoes, beans, corn, tobacco, and cocoa. The potato is especially important because it’s known for one of the main foods for Ireland. The European’s influenced oats and barley etc. Domesticated animals as pigs, chickens, sheep, and ox were also brought to the Americas. Horses were also brought to the new world which was a new tool for hunting and used for military.

Livestock and agriculture grown in Europe became important as the Columbian Exchange slowly overtook the Americas. Water and wind were harnessed for power on farms, and domesticated animals were a crucial element of farm life also. Pigs and sheep were the main source of meat and leather. Mules pulled

The domesticated animals that the Europeans brought carried over diseases such as small pox and measles which ultimately decimated the Native American population along with numerous animals and thus harming the ecosystem. Furthermore, after numerous crops from the New World was introduced to the Old World, there came a rising demand for those crops. This eventually led colonists to mass produce these crops in hopes of selling them for extra money. Excessive farming eventually led to deforestation for farm land along with depletion of the nutrients in American soil (Nun 174). Soil depletion then resulted in poor farming which followed starvation of the colonists and the destruction of American land. This early example shows the dangers of deforestation and poor soil that people still risk today by harming the

The Old World introduced horses, pig, cattle, and sheep, which helped the Europeans while they were settling. Before the arrival of these animals the native people only had turkeys, llamas, alpacas, and dogs. However, years after Columbus’ arrival the cattle and sheep because wild and were everywhere. The Natives were not very pleased with these wild animals, considering that they would destroy food crops. The horse, however, made the lives of the Natives easier by helping them move and kill faster than before. Due to horses, Indians decided to leave farming and become nomadic buffalo hunters which made them a bigger enemy to the settlers. For this reason horses were one of the few things that the native peoples would want from the Europeans.

In document 9, Rees says that the early Americans realized that the crops with more calories were better because they fed more people and made them more energized. This realization led to the Americans accepting and adopting the European crops and cuisines. In addition to the crops, Europeans brought a variety of animals ranging from pigs to horses. These animals were able to reproduce and grow rapidly due to the lack of predators. From the New World, the Europeans were able to get precious metals such as gold and silver, in addition to tobacco (Document 8). The exchange brought 2 hemispheres that had been isolated from each other for millennia. The exchange resulted in the United States becoming the greatest multicultural and multiethnic nation that it is today(Document 6). For the Europeans, coming to the Americas was a way for them to build a better life. According to document 4, Large families with small houses needed land and they

Some of the foods and animals that came from Europe to the Americas were bananas, coffee, cows, sheep, rice, horses, pigs, pears, wheat, turnips, lettuce, peaches, oranges, and lemons. Those are some of the foods and animals that came from Europe to the Americas. Some stuff that came from the Americas to Europe was, corn, cotton, papayas, peanuts, pumpkins, vanilla beans, marigolds, pineapples, and avocados. There are a lot more of food that came from the Americas to Europe.

These animals would affect the Americas in ways of food, transportation and battle. Document 6 states “Horses, pigs, sheep, and cattle were all European animals that flourished rapidly in the Americas because they were able to reproduce without being hindered by predators” (Document 6). Horses were used in battle to surprise the enemy and make travel faster and pigs were used as a food source. Oxen were used to transport goods faster than natives having to carry supplies on their backs. Document 8 illustrates the trading of livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs, and

(10 interesting facts, Document A) . The Eurasian animals had a great impact on the America because of it we see so many domestic animals which are used for farming. They are also consume for their meat. Like pigs

How they domesticated wild animals and plants for milk, food, clothing, and more, and the benefits of domestication over the hunter-gathering culture. More food meant more calories for humans meaning more work. More work meant higher crop yields which meant more population density which meant more people could work, and the cycle continued over and over again. The reason food production was so successful in Europe was because the continent lies east to west creating a similar climate for food to grow. Europe also has more open fields compared to Africa, the Americas, and Australia, where there were deserts, jungles, and drastically different climates. The conversion from the hunter-gatherer society to the domestication of wild animals and farming society was gradually and took many years and there are still hunter-gatherer societies today.

When the Columbian Exchange didn’t happen yet many of the Native Americans had to do all of the labor by themselves without any use of animals. After the Columbian Exchange, Columbus brought over horses, dogs, cattle, goats, and chicken and it provided the Natives with a new source of labor and also with a new source of food. Many of these animals carried diseases and humans were dying. Those diseases that the animals carried with them came to the New World. Cattle were very profitable because you could eat their meat and also use their hides as a blanket. The cattle hides were then shipped back to Europe to be sold as well as the meat. Cattle have a downfall because they were destroying Native American crops by eating them or by just simply stepping on them. Black rats carried bubonic plague and typhus; the black rats came from the Old World to the New World and that plague spread to the colonist. The plague also killed off some of the smaller animals that belong to the Native Americans. Horses also land a great impact in the new world for Europeans; they used horses to scare the Native Americans because the natives didn’t know what horse was and what they do. Horses have lots of power and compared to the other animals the horses are much faster and have a bolder look and that is why the Natives are so frighten of

Europe had a lot of technological advances compared to the Native Americans in the “New World”. European wanted to create relationships with the Native Americans, but the only way that they could communicate was that, if they educated the Native Americans. Europeans didn’t want to teach the Native the European language just because of trade, but because they wanted to educate the Indians and also convert them to Christianity. European finds that Christianity is the highest and evolution is even better. Farming also had a great impact on health. When farming started to happen in the “New World”, it improved people’s health and also the longevity of people’s lives. The plow was then created to plow areas of farmland. Farmland yields lots of rich soil, which became crop fields, and after that they established towns. The New World contained lots of corn, potatoes, peanuts, tomatoes, and many more other things; While Old World contained rice, wheat, sugar, oats, peaches, pears and many

Also, the best form of transportation that the Europeans greatly relied on to carry their valuable resource from one place to another it was by riding horses. Domesticated animals were a fundamental part in European society due to it maintain a reliable, high energy food source through many colonies. Whenever the new settlers introduced animals to the New World, they would let wild pigs run free to the land as a new food source for the Europeans. This had a negative contribution to the new land due to new animals destroyed most native’s crops. Therefore; the Natives Americans were highly exposed to the different outcomes that change their way life. In the Columbian Exchange food crops like corn, potatoes, etc. was cultivated by the Native Americans. In the new world the big advantage over the old word was the food crops that indigenous people were able to produce due to great soil and stretch land. Potato has been for many centuries a great crop to grow because it resisted cold climate and it would grow on thin