Columbian Exchange Research Paper

When Europeans first set foot on North America they arrived to a land that was completely different. The natives had been settled on the land for many years and established a spiritual connection with it as well. They were separated by an ocean and their had their own complete and individual culture and technology. The Columbian Exchange in the Western Hemisphere resulted in extensive demographic, economic, environmental, and social changes. One of the most predominant changes that occurred after European exposure was the decline in population. This happened for many reasons. Much of it started with the initial tension between the Natives and Europeans. The culture shock for the Europeans was uncanny. They struggled to adapt and learn the different society of the natives that had been already established. At that time Europe was filled with famines, plague, and war. When they came, they saw the “New World” as, “a second opportunity for humanity… to get it right this time.” They

They were in touch with their land, animals, and plants very deeply. When the Europeans settled they introduced, and forced upon, new beliefs and systems. Some of the changes brought upon the natives were on land ownership and trade. Natives previously believed that land could not have been bought, it was shared by a village. Essentially they considered land itself as property to the earth, not any one person's property. As the Europeans settled, they focused on entitling the land to themselves. The Indians began to shift their view as the Europeans started to do whatever with “their” land plots. Animals began to be seen as property as well. They used to, “pray for the spirits of the animals they hunted,” and had close relations to the spirits that embodied them. These relations rapidly changed native culture and soon enough, “they had forgotten most of their traditions because ‘their Old Men are