The Effects Of New Plants, Animals, And Technologies Altered The Natural ( Physical ) Environment Of North America

Many plants that were not native to the Americas were brought over on trade ships and began to grow there. For instance, bananas, apples, almonds, etc. Africa traded spices over to the Americas like black pepper. Brown rats and earthworms also made their way into the America’s wilderness where they grew and spread in the new habitat. Plants like wild oats and tumbleweeds were introduced as well, changing the environment of those involved forever.

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,

Culture wasn’t the only thing that the Europeans brought over to the Americas. Along with their customs and rules, came the diseases that the Native American’s have never been exposed to. The Europeans brought many communicable diseases such as small pox and measles which were transmitted to the Native Americans through trade goods or someone infected with them. This quickly annihilated most of the Native American population.

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 new plants and technologies included in the Columbian Exchange were crucial between the Native Americans and the Europeans, the Spanish in particular, in

In “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas,” the authors point out that there were two channels in the transfer of food crops. One are unknown tropical spcies from the New World, which has affected on the growth of local cuisines. They are rich in calories and improving taste and vitamin intake. Otherwise, the Old World also brought certain crops. America gave a plenty of land that helped response the high food demand, and became the main supplies for Old World markets. In this way, they unknowingly carried many Old World diseases, such as smallpox, meales, and other diseases. They were unfamiliar to the Native America and they never had developed immunity to such disease. By the early 1600’s, the population of Indians decreased nearly 90%. Furthermore, Columbus’ sailors encountered sexually with native women Indians so that they brought the deadly bacteria unwittingly back to Europe. This reason led slavery system traded from Africa for labor requirement for cotton and tobacco plantation

In the 1500s, the Conquistadors came to the new world from Europe. After the Conquistadors came and conquered the new world many Native Americans fell ill with the diseases brought from Europe. After the Europeans entered the new world an estimated 15 to 20 million Native Americans died (doc 5). A majority of these deaths were due to the introduction of smallpox from Europe to the new world (doc 5). This is because the majority of the Native American population did not have the immunity to these diseases as the

Native Americans during 1785-1829 were affected by western expansion because of the removal of Native Americans from the land, white settlers attempting to assimilate Native Americans to their culture, and were involved in battles between the a Native Americans and white setters which led to the depleting number of Native Americans.

- 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,

Europeans brought diseases to the Americas, such as smallpox and measles. The original descendants did not bring the diseases because they traveled through the cold and they had no domesticated animals. Many of these diseases were caused by domesticated animals. At

One of these significant changes was the introduction to new disease to the new world. When the Europeans came over and started to interact with the Native Americans they brought with them new diseases that Native Americans weren't

A good example of this is when Cronon explained “…Indian villages moved from habitat to habitat to find maximum abundance through minimal work, and so reduced their impact on the land, the English believed in and required permanent settlements” (Cronon 53). This truly exemplifies a big difference of how the Europeans and Native Americans treated their environment. The last subject in this book that I will discuss is the devastating effect of everything on the land. The biggest factor was deforestation. Trees were cut down to make room for agriculture and timber products were sent back to Europe. The colonists had discovered ways to make lumbering easier and faster, “New England lumbering used forests as if they would last forever” (Cronon 111). Cronon uses many examples as to how Europeans changed the environment. All of which led to effects such as floods, over plowing, and soil

The exchange of plants and animals transformed the way of life for many. Foods that has never been seen or eaten became daily consumption in most of their diets, which gave the opportunity for more people to thrive. “The Spanish introduced livestock, wheat, and sugar…” (Foner 24). People in the new world chose to cultivate old world crops, such as wheat and apples into different forms of crops.

Describe the major developments, changes, and the general living patterns of the Great Lake Indians during the period from 1000 BC and AD 1600. Make sure to provide at least 3 different components for each of the main timeframes outlined in the readings (Early Woodland, Middle Woodland/Hopewell, Late Woodland, Mississippian/Upper Mississippian).

Historically the treatment of Native Americans has been highly problematic, especially throughout the colonization of the New World. Although, when colonising some Europeans took a merciful and sympathetic approach to the Native Americans, generally the treatment towards the indigenous people was not humane. Not only did the Native Americans die at the hand of the settlers, they also died from diseases that had been brought to the new world by explorers for which they had no immunity. In some cases diseases such as smallpox wiped out entire tribes. Together, the introduction of diseases and the actions of the European settlers had devastating effects on the Native Americans.