Columbian Exchange

Columbus, in 1492, journeyed to find the Indies but stumbled upon the Americas. With the two ‘worlds’ now connected, Columbus began exchanging items and cultures. This has been called the Columbian Exchange. During the Columbian Exchange many things were traded; Beast of burden, grains, vegetables, fruits, plants, and many diseases. All of these have had a meaningful impact on the ‘new’ and ‘old’ world, but only a few have had a large, substantial, and lasting effect on the world today. Those few items are corn to the ‘old’ world, horses to the ‘new’ and most importantly death to millions in the ‘new’ world due to smallpox. One of the most successful crops was traded from the Americas to Europe. Once corn arrived in Europe it was used as

The problem with the llama was that it was only capable of carrying small loads. The Columbian Exchange brought domesticated animals or beast of burden to the Americas. The ‘Old’ world’s domesticated animals caused major changes in the ‘New’ world’s nutrition, cultures, and ecology. Pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, and chicken were some of the animals brought over, but no European domesticated animal had a bigger impact on the Americas than the horse. The horse soon became a weapon of war for the natives, who were trying to hold out against the European invasion. Horses hauled freight, made cattle ranching possible and totally transformed the cultures of American Indians. The horses contributed mightily to the hauling power and transportation of ‘New’ world peoples. The horse advanced agriculture through many ways too, but the horse also brought many ecological problems. One of those problems being the steel plows pulled by horses sped up the erosion of rich soil. The Columbian Exchange brought many beasts of burden changing the landscape and culture of the ‘New’ world, but no other domesticated animal changed the Americas than the horse. The horse was not only the major item exchanged that greatly impacted the ‘New’ world. Diseases ripped through the population of the ‘New’ world, bringing a time of death and darkness to the

From the cash crop, corn, that helped raise population by thousands and kept many from starvation from hard times. Or the horse that helped shape the ecological landscape of the Americas and changed the cultural ways of the natives. The Columbian Exchange did not just bring success, but darkness with diseases. Especially smallpox, which decimated ‘New’ world tribes and communities, paving the way for the Europeans to conquer the land. Because of the Columbian exchange, humanity has achieved the ability to manipulate the world and what is done in the world for better and for