Columbian Exchange Research Paper

1047 Words5 Pages
“The Columbian Exchange” The Columbian Exchange was the period of cultural and biological changes between the new and old world. There was a widespread exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technology. This exchange transformed the European and Native American ways of life. It also affected social and cultural makeup of both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The arrival of people coming from several countries such as Europe and Africa brought contact within the new world. It was the backbone of the way people lived, what they ate and how they died. Due to the fact that immune systems were not yet strengthened, diseases such as measles and small pox affected several people. The exchange began in 1492 following Columbus’ discovery, and…show more content…
Being that the American inhabitants were not accustomed to the sicknesses, there were several causalities. When the east inhabitants settled in America, they weren’t aware that they were bringing sickness and disease. The east had never had trouble with being sick because they had grown immunities after living with it for so long. Sicknesses like smallpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough, influenza, chicken pox, and typhus, were introduced by sailors. Extreme cold had lessened the possibility of sickness that traveled with the westerners. Due to this, youths and adults alike were severely affected wave after wave of epidemic. This produced a greatness of deaths. Since much of the American population had been stripped, the region’s ecological and economic balance was rocked. Between 1492 and 1650, 90 percent of the original Americans had died. That being said, this was considered one of the largest demographic disasters in human…show more content…
The production of rice and cotton, both imported in the Columbian Exchange, together with tobacco, formed the basis of slave society in the United States. Wheat, which thrived in the temperate latitudes of North and South America and in the highlands of Mexico, eventually became a basic food crop for tens of millions of people in the Americas. By the late 20th century, millions of people were being fed by wheat exports from America, drastically changing the economy of the Americas. Still the Native Americans preferred their own food, over the food brought to them by the Eurasians from the east. However, when it came to animals, the Native Americans gladly borrowed from the Eurasian stables. There was a variety of useful animals including horses, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. There were domesticated llamas and alpacas in the high Andes before Columbus, but no animals over 100 pounds because larger animals were not suitable for domestication. While having plenty of good food crops available before 1492, Native Americans had very few animals suitable for domestication, aside from llamas, alpacas, dogs, turkeys, and guinea
Show More
Related

  • Columbian Exchange Research Paper

    1255 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Columbian Exchange was the period of of cultural exchange between the New World and Old World, many of these exchanges were of plants, animals, and different technologies that changed the way of life for both the Native American and Europeans. The exchange began after Columbus’ discovery in 1492, and lasted through the years of discovery and expansion. Mcneill explains, “The Columbian Exchange has led many countries to advance in agricultural production

    Read More

  • Columbian Exchange Research Paper

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    To many Europeans or people of the Old World, the New World was foreign and had not been discovered before the 15th century. Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 in hopes of finding the New World and bringing back glory to Spain. The Columbian Exchange occurred during the 15th and 16th century between the Old World and New World. Italian explorer Christopher Columbus led the expedition for Spain to the New World traveling on the Santa Maria starting in 1492 bringing plants, animals and diseases

    Read More

  • Columbian Exchange Research Paper

    504 Words  | 3 Pages

    not only killed, but they forced the Mayans and Aztecs into a different fate, one worse than death; they robbed them of their identities. The Columbian exchange shares multiple similarities and difference with the style of cultural diffusion which took place between the Islamic community and the Christian community during the time period

    Read More

  • Columbian Exchange Research Paper

    930 Words  | 4 Pages

    artificial establishment of connections through the Old and New World plants, animals, and bacteria, commonly known as the Columbian Exchange, is one of the more ecological events of the past millennium.The Columbian Exchange was a widespread exchange of animal, plants, culture including slaves, diseases, and ideas between the eastern and western hemispheres. The Columbian Exchange was one of the most significant events concerning ecology, agriculture,

    Read More

  • Columbian Exchange Research Paper

    1273 Words  | 6 Pages

    Nasreen Ravat United States History Ms East 31st November, 2015 The Columbian Exchange The Columbian exchange was the broad exchange of livestock, plants, society, human populations, innovation and thoughts between the old and the new world. This occurred in the 15th and 16th centuries; this was related with the European colonization and exchange after Christopher Columbus 1492 voyage. Christopher Columbus a son of an Italian weaver from the Italian port

    Read More

More about Columbian Exchange Research Paper

Open Document