Changes And Continuities Of The Columbian Exchange

It seemed as if 2 different worlds were separated by the Atlantic. It wasn’t until Europe discovered the Americas and its treasures that they soon would experience a dynamic change in economic status, way of living, and so forth. Unfamiliar foods, crops, animals, and diseases were both spread among the 2 locations. Europe seemed to gain much of the benefits of the Columbian Exchange while the Americas experienced a sharp demographic decline. America provided Europeans with high nutrient and yielding foods such as, maize, potatoes, tobacco and cacao. In exchange for products that America offered to Europe and Africa, they sent rice, wheat, rye, lemons, and oranges. Animals were also a significant factor of such exchanges. Horses, cattle, pigs, chickens, and honeybees were introduced to the Western

Horses and cows would pull plows across the land, this helped to cultivate more land, creating crop fields. Weapons such as guns and knives created a hunting life style that was easier than “hunting and gathering”. Europeans introduced written language to the Natives, so they could be able to integrate and communicate in their society. Often such cases of “teaching” Natives written language was to convert them to Christianity as well. The global interaction and exchange not only dealt with material goods and animals, but also disease. Natives in the Americas lacked immunity to various germs held by the Europeans, since they did not come in contact with other parts of the world. The death toll of many of the natives including the Inca Empire, Aztec, Mayan, the Arwak, and Taino on Hispaniola rose exponentially. The diseases that swept over the Americas also came from Africa, such as, yellow fever and malaria. Millions died while their cities and homes collapsed due to invasion, warfare, and