Positive Impact On The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, ideas and technology between the eastern and western hemispheres. It began in the fifteenth century and lasted until the eighteenth. There were many economic geographic and social impacts of the Columbian Exchange. Without the Columbian Exchange society today would not be the same.

This essay will explore whether the old world or the Americas benefitted more from the Columbian exchange. The Columbian exchange was the transfer of plants, animals, ideas and more between the Americas and the old world during the 15th and 16th century. This essay will first talk about the slavery that happened during the Columbian exchange. Secondly the deaths that were caused by the transfer of diseases through the Columbian exchange. Lastly how the exchange of foods through the Columbian exchange lead to an agricultural revolution.

The exchange between Europe and the New World, also known as the Columbian Exchange, had many positive and negative outcomes. When the Europeans came across the New World, they brought many new discoveries to the people of the New World; some amazing and some disastrous. In reverse, when the Europeans arrived at the New World, the natives (also known as the Indians) had many things that had yet to be discovered by the people of the Old World.

The Columbian Exchange brought diseases in the two countries and was also the forerunner for eliminating Native Americans in North America, but Europe acquired new ways to develop their economy further than what it already was. This discovery was what led to Europe's powers early on in the 1400’s. Europe's discoveries led to the modernization of cultures along with great societies such as the New World, which became the country it is today.

When you are sitting in a fancy restaurant in Texas, tasting a delicious steak with a nice cup of coffee, do you know that before 1492, American people don’t even know what is beef and coffee. Nowadays, people’s diet is abundant. People in every part of the world can taste the food originated in other side of the world. This is due to one of the most significant ecological events in human history called the Columbian Exchange. According to Nunn Nathan and Qian Nancy, “the Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492” (Nathan and Nancy, 2010). It was so spectacular that has left both positive and negative impacts in each side of the world.

- The Columbian Exchange was a worldwide transfer of plants, animals, and diseases. Before Columbian Exchanged certain foods were not in European meals such as, corn, potatoes, and different kinds of beans – (kidney, lima), peanuts, and peppers. The same for the Native Americans, certain foods were not a part of the culture such as, rice, wheat, barley, oats, melons, Kentucky bluegrass, and dandelions. The diseases the European’s as well as the slaves carried over, they effected the Native Americans greatly and caused millions to die. These diseases consisted of smallpox’s,

The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of plants, animals, human populations, diseases, cultures, and ideas throughout the world. The new worlds that had been discovered were a part of this Columbian Exchange, and were exposed to many new and foreign goods as well as people. The Americas, or New World, were faced with harsh treatment from Columbus and his crew, along with the rampant spread of new diseases that took a large toll on the Native populations. The Indies were also subject to these same factors. So, was the Columbian exchange an overall positive event for the Americas? While not justifying the cruelty of the Portuguese and Spaniards towards the Native Americans and Indians, the belief that the Columbian

The Americas “had a very significant decline in population, losing somewhere around 30 million people,” from European diseases in 1500 to 1700. These diseases killed up to 90% of Native Americans in the New World. The Spanish purposefully gave the Native Americans blankets and clothes that had been used by someone who had previously died of smallpox. The Spanish also put diseases in the rivers that the Native Americans used to drink. After so many Native Americans died of disease, it was very easy for Europeans to conquer and colonize the land. They had already killed millions of natives and wiped out entire civilizations. Because it was easy to set up colonies in the New World, the English colonies eventually came together to form the United States and a very powerful country as it is today. Cleary, disease was also a big impact of the Columbian Exchange. Most diseases spread from the Old World to the New World. Syphilis, however, a disease that created a painful blistering rash, and traveled back to Europe from the New World by sailors. Disease had a big impact by killing millions of innocent

The Columbian Exchange “was a widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations including slaves, disease, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres (Old World and New World).” It was one of the most significant events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in all human history. Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas in 1492 launched the era of large-scale contact between the Old and the New Worlds, hence the name "Columbian" Exchange. Native Americans were extremely healthy people Europeans migrated to America and bringing these diseases such as bubonic plague, chicken pox, pneumonic plague, cholera, diphtheria, influenza, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. Europeans were immune to the diseases whereas the natives were not since the lack of frequent exposure resulting in a lot of illness and fatal outcomes. Since it was only the NA’s getting ill Europeans showed little to no remorse saying it was “gods wrath” with a great majority of the natives suffering from the diseases the Europeans sought it to be a sign from god that they were destined to settle in this new land the land the Native Americans already resided in. despite the horrific disease that struck the Native Americans The Columbian Exchange helped reduce poverty, and provided many of the people with food brought from each of the Worlds. The people no longer had to worry about hunger that much when they found a plant that grew good for them. Both the Native Americans and the Europeans benefited from each other. The Europeans learned about the native’s deposits of gold and silver they also learned better ways to dye fabrics using plants and berries, they also taught the Europeans better ways to fish by weaving their own nets instead of trying to blast fish out of the water, they also learned new ways to hunt because they were often left with spoiled meat because they were shooting foreign animals such as buffalo so when they had to shoot them for food they often shot at random because they weren’t familiar with the animal. the Europeans they introduced sugar, livestock, and horses which soon became a very noble and sacred animal to the natives. If the Natives and

The Columbian Exchange is about exchanging goods from the “New World” to the “Old World” and vice versa. During the Columbian Exchange, Europeans brought food, animals, technology, and diseases to the New World. The New World had many great qualities such as farmland for crops and large vastness of land for animals to roam freely and reproduce. During the Columbian Exchange people around the world also got to experience different things to eat that they don’t usually see every day. The Columbian Exchange traded from Asia, in Africa, and Europe.

The Americas and their people were isolated for thousands of years from the rest of the world which created for them technological barriers and biological consequences; no one yet had discovered a way to connect the American and European continents until 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to the Americas and brought the European people and their advancements with him. They exchanged ideas, cultures, plants, animals, and diseases which became know as the Columbian Exchange. Within this exchange the two countries and their people greatly benefited and advanced from each other. The Europeans brought livestock that changed how the Indians transported and the labor that they did. The Indians introduced the Europeans to maize and potatoes

Contact between Native Americans and Europeans brought changes to European societies through three ways. First, with many new resources, Europeans were able to start the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange was basically the transfer of new resources and technology from the New World to the Old World and from the Old World to the New World. Second, since new types of crops were introduced to the Europeans, these new crops improved many of the European’s diets. For an example, before potatoes were introduced to the Old World, grains and wheat were the main parts of the European diets. But, after potatoes were introduced to the European countries, potatoes became the substitutions for grain and wheat because they were convenient to cultivate.

Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, with the motivation of finding the better trade route with Asia, gaining wealth from gold and fame over Portuguese as well as spreading Christianity sets sail from Spain in 1492. On October this year, he reached the Americas which later was confirmed as the “New World” compared with the “Old World” consisting of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Along with his voyage was the transformation of four popular factors including plants, animals, diseases, and human populations. In 1972, the American historian named Alfred W. Crosby used the term “Columbian Exchange” for this significant event. In general, the Columbian Exchange has not only changed Europeans and Native Americas ways of life but also helped to

The New World received new crops from the Old World such as wheat, sugar, rice, and coffee. When Columbus brought over sugar, it happened to thrive in the warm Caribbean climate. This lead to an increase in consumption of sugar in Europe which consequently created an influx of African slaves to work the fields and sugar mills in the New World. Corn, potatoes, tobacco, and chocolate are just a few of the many foods to be brought into the Old World. It was the food for the Old World that was the most valuable exchange, as it would change both their economy and diet as well as continue to feed their ever-growing population.While some plants made a change for the better, some created an even bigger problem. Crops, such as a sweet potato, generated an even bigger loss from

The Columbian Exchange had many effects on the world we know and live in today. There are many views on whether these effects were a positive or negative impact on us. The exchange brought diseases and slavery, but it also brought new technologies and culture. Throughout history there have been conquerors and conquered, the Americas are no different. Though the impact on the natives was unpleasant, I believe the Columbian Exchange was a positive event for the New World because it brought technological advances, new ideas, and allowed both the New World and the Old World to progress.