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Changes And Continuities In The Columbian Exchange

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When Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, he brought drastic environmental changes. This initiated the Columbian Exchange, or the knitting together of cultures, which represented cultural diffusion at its finest. While there were numerous positive benefits, it also began a trend of ecological release. Species of plants and animals brought over by the Europeans began to flourish because they had no natural predators and a different climate. Additionally, due to the many Spanish explorers migrating to the Americas, large quantities of silver in Postosí and Huancavelica were found and the Spanish forced the natives to mine and refine said silver. The refining process, only possible through mercury amalgamation, was harmful to anyone who came …show more content…

With many Europeans journeying to the Americas in search of gold and silver, there was a large increase in “mercury amalgamation technique and forced Indian labor”, which “played a vital role in the development of the modern global economy” (Robins and Hagan 1). It also resulted in the poisoning and death of countless people, including workers and other residents of Huancavelica, Potosi, and other mining centers. One Spanish Missionary, José de Acosta, said that “if some smoke or vapor comes to the people who open the pots, they get mercury poisoning and die, or remain in a very bad state or lose their teeth" (Robins and Hagan 1). Therefore, the Spaniards were conscious of the negative effects of the process to obtain silver; nonetheless, this continued till the mines were devoid of silver. Furthermore, an advocate for the natives, Damian de Jeria, claimed that a cough and illness resulted from working in the mines and that “to force people to work in the mercury mines was to send them ‘to the slaughterhouse’” (Robins and Hagan 1). A large part of the Columbian exchange was depleting the Americas of its natural and abundant wealth. This is clearly seen in the harmful silver mining process, which brought illness upon anyone who came in contact with the mercury vapors. Thus, the Columbian Exchange negatively affected and caused the death of the Native

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Thereupon the Columbian Exchange, silver took the global marketplace by storm. Exported from mines in Spanish America and Japan, said silver was imported into China for coveted goods such as silk, perfume, and porcelain. This precious metal influenced the world insofar as having both the Chinese and the Europeans seeing it profitable enough to warrant inflation, with the latter rendering it necessary for the Native American peoples to be enslaved. Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was well aware that the earth was round, not flat, and as such he sought after direct passage into Asia, free from Muslim control. But when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, he instead landed in the New World.

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After Columbus “discovered” the Americas, the Colombian exchange began. In this trading system, Afro-Eurasia would trade items from the Americas with their commodities. Many Europeans would go to the Americas to make money or spread their religion. One empire was the Spanish empire. They looked for valuable minerals and found silver mines in Mexico and Peru, prompting the silver trade.

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6. Columbian exchange was the exchange of animals, crops and some resources between the New and Old world. During the Columbian exchange the European brought diseases to Native Americans and it a killed a lot of people. These included Tuberculosis, measles, cholera, typhus, and smallpox. In all the exchanges between the Native Americans and the Europeans, diseases had the most impact.

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Labor systems have been the foundation for civilizations since the beginning of time. Who did what and how they benefited each other, in other words, specialization of labor, came to be a defining factor in whether a society was truly a civilization or not. Most great civilizations were founded on agricultural labor systems, and societies with no systematic format on their workforce were seldom able to take the main stage in world history. Between 1450 and 1750, the Americas began to mark their place in the world, proving they were just as relevant as Europe, Africa, or Asia. The labor systems established during 1450-1750 were key factors in how they were able to do so.

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The Colombian exchange created a great cultural impact on The Americas which can be seen even today. Wiping out up to ninety percent of Native Americans, the settlers that came to America created a biological imperialism on another scale. The demand from European countries for exportation quickly created a market that settlers could benefit from and Native Americans could not compete with. Deforestation started on a massive scale due to the high availability of lumber, and seas quickly started to be depleted of fish. The introduction of livestock and agriculture created an environmental revolution.

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Economic Effects of the Columbian Exchange  Inflation of cash-crops, slavery and silver resulting from the Columbian Exchange caused a drastic effect on the global economy.   Cash-crops forged new trade routes across continents, slavery supported New World exports, and silver caused power shifts in the world 's distribution of wealth.   As Spanish expeditions to the New World increased in size and purpose, the economic effects on the rest of the world spread with equal vigor.   The triangular trade circulated commodities between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.   From Europe some commodities were distributed throughout Asia.

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During the early 1400’s European exploration initiated changes in technology, farming, disease and other cultural things ultimately impacting the Native Americans and Europeans. Throughout Columbus’ voyages, he initiated the global exchange that changed the world. The exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New World began soon after Columbus returned to Spain from the Americas. These changes had multiple effects, that were both positive and negative. Although the Columbian Exchange had numerous benefits and drawbacks but the drawbacks outweighs the benefits.

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During the late 1400s and the early 1500s, European expeditioners began to explore the New World. Native Americans, who were living in America originally, were much different than the Europeans arriving at the New World; they had a different culture, diet, and religion. Eventually, both the Native Americans and the European colonists exchanged different aspects of their life. For example, Native Americans gave the Europeans corn, and the Europeans in return gave them modern weapons, such as various types of guns. This type of trade was called “the Columbian Exchange.”

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