The Columbian Exchange : The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange is the exchange of plants, animals, food, and diseases between Europe and the Americas. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus came to America, he saw plants and animals he had never seen before so he took them back with him to Europe. Columbus began the trade routes which had never been established between Europe and the Americas so his voyages initiated the interchange of plants between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, which doubled the food crop resources available to people on both sides of the Atlantic.

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.

The Columbian Exchange began in 1492 with the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World because he was searching for an all-water trade route to the precious spices in Asia. As with any new discovery of land, positive and negative effects occurred. Negatives included the spread of disease and slavery, whereas positives consisted of better education, the upward mobility of social classes, and the spread of Western Civilization in the New World.

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.

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.

At the period of the Columbian Exchange, there were many items, including many crops and animals, that were traded with the Americas. Though many of them were useful, the most beneficial and useful item was the horse. Many of the Native Americans first feared the large and fierce war animals, yet they adapted to them and learned to ride and care for them. This barter was much of use to the Native Americans.

The Columbian Exchange took place the 15 to 16th century. This was a point in time when goods were shipped between the New World (The Americas) and The Old World (Europe). The trading of these goods produced wealth for many.

From India came spices, and from China came silks, magnetic compasses, water powered mills, and mechanical clocks. The more Western Europeans -- mainly Spain and Portugal -- sent boats over to the Americas and create a trading network for themselves. In the end the only people who profited were from Spain and Portugal. The Native Americans gave a wide variety of foods, and in return received, a smaller variety of foods, a few domesticated animals, and a deplorable compilation of

Some of Americas animals have also ended in the old world but none of these changes have made much of a difference. Most of the animals were bought from Europe to America these included animals such as Pigs ,Goats and sheep, Chickens, and Certain breeds of dogs and cats. Native Americans got horses an animal they had never seen and were amazed by there size. Horses were used mainly by travelers and were used for transportation and wars. Native American took to horses and started using them for transportation as well.

Following the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century, many European countries supported expeditions to the New World. These voyages resulted in the transoceanic trade of ideas, disease, and culture between the Old World and the new. However, crop foods were the dominant trade item between the two worlds, because food was essential for survival during the long voyages and required minimal amounts of communication and understanding for trading. The transoceanic trade forever impacted Europe through the introduction and integration of a particular crop food, the potato.

America--a promising land for the European settlers was a home to many Native Americans tribes. Slowly, as settlers migrated to the U.S, they began to expand into lands owned by the Native Americans for hundreds of years back. Before the civil war, Native Americans had initially welcomed European settlers as they believed in sharing the land with the newcomers. They would help the settlers in their travel across the plains by providing supplies and expert advice on location. In return, European settlers introduced horses and weapons to the Native Americans tribes to which they were very grateful.

The Europeans traded their crops such as, apples, beets, and cabbage. The Native Americans began trying the

The European exploration and colonization introduced many new things to both sides. Through trade both sides obtained new items, food resources, and animals. North and South America were introduced to rice, wheat, horses, and tools like the plow. While Europe were introduced to peanuts, corn, potatoes, and a few new animals like

Columbus tried to introduce things such as wheat, olives, and grapes because he knew that the Europeans would want bread, olive oil, and wine. The Europeans started growing coffee, sugar, and rice on large plantations to make a profit. Although they brought many plants over to the New World there were plants already there that they did not know of. Maize, or corn which the indigenous people relied on, quickly became part of the Europeans’ diet. With the introduction of new fruits, vegetables etc. and foods like the potato, which became essential to the Irish people's diet, “the improved nutrition from American goods increased European population dramatically to the point that the general population could not be supported without the help of the New Worlds’ foods ( Encyclopedia of Native American History) .” However, there were also negative effects of bringing new plant life to the new world. The Europeans unintentionally brought new weeds to the Western Hemisphere, most likely on their boots, as well as other organisms that caused plant diseases leading to a large loss of plant life in the

The Europeans established a relationship with the natives in the Americas that changed their ways of living to completely, most of the time for the better. A great impact that the Europeans had on the Americans during the Age of Exploration is the abundance of food and crops that were traded. In his second letter to Charles V in 1520, Hernan Cortés writes, “There are all kinds of green vegetables, especially onions, leeks, garlic, watercresses, nasturtium, borage, sorrel, artichokes, and golden thistle; fruits also of numerous descriptions, amongst which are cherries and plums, similar to those in Spain.” (Cortés, 1520). Food and crops that were in high demand in Europe were introduced to the Americas which allowed the diversification and expansion of agriculture in the continent. Dishes that were native to the Americas were revamped to