The Lasting Effects of the Columbian Exchange During the Age of Discovery

The Columbian Exchange is one of the greatest exchanges in foods, animals, plants and diseases between Europe and the Americas. In 1492 Christopher Columbus came to America. He saw things he had never seen before so then he decided to take some of them with him to Europe. He started trading routes to initiated an interchange of plants between Eastern and Western, as a result it doubled the resources of the food crop on both sides.

The discovery of the New world or America in the year 1492, and The Columbian Exchange it played a significant role on bring resources to various parts of the world. It brought the exchange of various resources like plants, animals, and diseases across the world. The year was 1492 is when Christopher set sail and put in motion The Columbian Exchange or also known as The Great Exchange. The Columbian Exchange affected the geographic location with the trading routes with Afro-Eurasia to the Americas. Also, The Exchange affected the economic with various countries with the trading. Finally, it affected the social change that made us the county we are to this day. With this exchange set forth the trading of various

The Columbian Exchange has been called the “greatest human intervention in nature since the invention of agriculture” (Grennes 2007). The exchange of diseases, plants, and animals lead to a global cultural and economic shift throughout the Old and New Worlds following Christopher Columbus' 'discovery' of the Americas in 1492. The Eastern Hemisphere saw an influx of raw materials, new staple crops, and the income from and production of growing crops that were too resource intensive for Europe and Asia. The Western Hemisphere saw large scale population shifts, massive devastation accompanying colonization, and a significant change in the ecosystem with the introduction of new, sometimes invasive, plants and animals. This 'exchange' had one

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.

The Columbian exchange is an interchange of plants, ideas, diseases and many more things traded between the New World and the Old World during the 15th and 16th century. It all began in 1492 after Christopher Columbus went on his voyage and discovered the New World. After discovering the New World many milestones in history began to form. Following in his steps of his new discovery came some of the Europeans. Since the Colombian exchange began, many things have been brought to America and many things have been sent over in the directions. The Old World has brought over many supplies as in sugar, coffee, horses and smallpox. The Americas brought to them corn, cocoa beans, and tomatoes in their exchange. Not only did the old and the new world bring great things to each other, they also brought diseases and a decrease in the population of the new world. Instead of the old world taking in the new world’s culture, it was reversed. The new world had taken in the old world’s way of lifestyle.

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

European crave for spices was immense. It would drive merchants to seek out trade routes. The Colombian Exchange which commenced after Colombus landing in America, was the exchange of goods, resources, and ideas between the New World and the Old World. From Europe, Asia, and Africa many different species of animals were brought into the lives of Native Americans in the New World. Cattle, pigs, and horses being some of the most influential. Sugar and Coffee would also tremendously impact the lives of Native Americans as the remaining amount that survived small pox disease would be to work in the fields cultivating these popular crops. A few crucial plants that came from the New World were the cacao bean, as Europeans would begin to develop a liking for chocolate and other consumer goods later on, the highly addictive Tobacco would be dispersed though out the nation as well. This exchange system would prove to be a huge turning point as Spain, Portugal and later England, France, and the Dutch would come out to take their piece of this new land. Compared to 1517 these discoveries would change the lives of just about every European for the better, as it was the nobles who funded the expeditions for the search of new goods by intellectual men, rather than the blind following that happened with the Protestant leaders that would

- A political and economic policy adapted by most European monarchs. A mercantile system exist when the government controlled all economic activities to strengthen national power.

In 1492, when the first of many Europeans arrived to the Americas, a new era had begun. The great leaders and trades between the old and new worlds have changed humanity for the better and worse. To understand how we should view the Columbian Exchange, it must be understood by its impact on the history of trade, change in civilization, and diseases.

Christopher Columbus changed the Old World in 1492 by accidently sailing to a new land, which was thought to be India but was actually the Americas. He soon found that the goods in the New World were not found in the Old World, and that the New World didn’t have certain goods like the Old World did. People started to exchange goods from the New World to the Old World, and the Old World to the New World. This process was called the Columbian Exchange, and it continued to happen for centuries. When the term, “When Worlds Collide”, is used, it means the exchanging of goods through the Columbian Exchange between the peoples of the New and Old Worlds.

The Columbian Exchange is non-fiction book written by Alfred W. Crosby JR. It illustrates the important events that transpired when Columbus came to America in 1492. I initially chose this this book because I wanted to know more about Europe's effects on America, and how Columbus altered the flora and fauna of America for better and for worse. As I started to read further into the book I immediately was captivated by all the information that was hidden within the text.

he Columbian Exchange had a very significant impact on the Americas and Europe between 1492 and 1750. This exchange gave civilizations the opportunity to not only migrate but develop and explore more of the world through trade, interactions, and discoveries. If it hadn’t been for the Columbian Exchange a lot of resources would not have been as widespread and animals wouldn’t exist as much in places as they are now.

When building the New World, the labor that was used was due to racism and slavery. Wealthy white people would come to the Americas for opportunity while poor white indentured servants and enslaved African Americans built their colonies and worked in the fields. As time went on, people began to view certain races as more important and of a higher class than others. The New World became a heavily racist society filled with African Americans being captured and brought over to the America’s only to be worked to death. Even Indians were treated differently based off their origin and religion.

Crops were transported over from the New World, such as Potatoes, tomatoes, squashes, pumpkins, beans, and other vegetables that drastically changed the European diet. Before the arrival of said plants the European diet relied on grain, mostly wheat, even this was hard to come by as there was not land to farm on. Cargo ships coming from the New World brought other resources needed for the growing industrial Europe, ship timbers, hemp rope, tar, furs, dyes such as indigo and red Brazil wood, dried fish, flaxseed oil, hides, and a mass of other materials.