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Columbian Exchange Research Paper

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Define the Columbian exchange and provide a brief summary of the ways this process connected the Old World (continents of Africa and Eurasia) and the New World (the American continent) through the exchange of food and diseases.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus began his voyage to the Americas and started The Columbian Exchange, which is the exchange of diseases, resources, ideas and people between the Old World and the New World. The Old World consisted of the Eastern Hemisphere which included Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries. The New World was America and the Western Hemisphere. The Columbian Exchange had both positive and negative impacts to both the Old World and the New World. For example, the Old World gained new crops, such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, maize, cassava , chili pepper, cacao, peanuts, and pineapples. These were used to make dishes in the Old World countries such as Italy, India, and Thailand. In addition, there were uncultivated land that was used for crops …show more content…

These crops are able to grow in a wide variety of climates in the Old World during different seasons. They provided essential nutrients and needed calories to the population. For example potatoes brought the largest impact due to its high amount of nutrients and there were enough for the whole family. It increased the population growth. Sweet potatoes are also highly consumed in countries such as Rwanda, Uganda and China, while corn (maize) was popular in Lesotho, Zambia and Malawi. It provided resources for millions of people as it quickly grew. Cassava also provided nutrients and calories after being properly processed and was popular throughout Africa and the Old World. It provided the most calories than any other plant. Along with the staples foods, new spices such as chili peppers, cacao and vanilla were widely adopted around the

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For example, potatoes and maize were extremely critical to American agriculture. Subsequently, the staple crops were able to grow in harsh conditions, making them more convenient to grow than other crops like rice and wheat. The Columbian Exchange enabled people between the New and Old World to trade staple crops, which provided more nutrition to a larger

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The Columbian Exchange was a period when Columbus found the New World in 1492. Which then, became the first Americans and initiated trade between the old world. The Columbian Exchange changed ideas and culture that impacted so much history today. The columbian exchange had an impact on diseases diseases with smallpox, eruptive fevers, and measles wiping population in its path, and there was slave trading involved as well. The English “New World” was a disease of Syphilis and generating a wide spread of effects.

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From the New World to the Old, potatoes, beans, peanuts, and many other foods became sources of nutrition for many European countries. From the Old world to the New World animals including horses, cows, oxen, sheep, chickens, and pigs were exchanged. Horses allowed Indians to move quickly and efficiently across land. Animals became important for labor, food, and clothing. Sugar cane

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Although we mainly speak of spices when we talk about the Colombian Exchange or Christopher Columbus’s journey, we never mention the plants and crops that were also spread all across the trading route. There was never and coffee in Columbia, or oranges in Florida, or maize in many Latin American countries. Once trade began, these crops quickly spread all across the continent and flourished in some environments and quickly died out in other environments due to its climate. This helped both the new settlers and the natives, as it benefited both parties adapt also. Although the new settlers and the traders were the ones who brought the crops to the New World, such like maize, coffee, beans, avocadoes, and peanuts.

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As a result, the Columbian Exchange, Columbus brought many goods, animals, and ideas exchanged between the worlds. Some of the animals brought included horses,cows, and pigs. Grains were also imported for instance wheat,barley,and rye. A few Mediterranean plantation crops were also imported those include sugar, bananas, and citrus fruits.

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However, there was a much larger selection of crops available in the new world. They had crops such as tobacco, potatoes, corn, and more. Europe discovered that the crops brought back were much more calorically dense than the crops

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Many years ago, a continental drift split North and South America from Eurasia and Africa. As they remained separated, new species of plants and animals developed and evolved on each continent. The Columbian Exchange was a period of physical exchanges between the Old and New worlds. The Old and the New worlds exchanged diseases, populations, crops, and animals. All of these exchanges were brought to the Americas after Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas.

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The introduction of foreign crops to the New World had a huge impact on the way we live today. Europeans adopted the cultivating techniques of many crops found in the New World such as corn, cocoa, and peanuts. They also introduced popular crops from home such as wheat, barley, and rye. They also introduced a variety of fruits to the New World, such as bananas, peaches, pears, and citruses. However, among the most impactful plants brought to the New World is sugarcane.

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Parts of Asia and Africa were affected as well. Asia was affected by it being introduced to diseases, new plants, and animals to the continent. One example of Asia being affected by this is the introduction of potatoes from the Andes Mountains in South America. Africa was also affected by the Columbian exchange. Slave exports were already in high demand but when American crops were discovered the slave market boomed.

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They brought other things like tobacco, cacao, and cotton, which became very valuable over the years. Cacao bean was grated into a powder and mixed into water and created a bitter drink. The Spanish added sugar and honey to alleviate the bitterness, and in the next hundred years, as it spread throughout Europe, vanilla was added to the mixture producing a new luxury item: chocolate (Horgan). Tobacco, also known as one of the world's most important drugs, has resulted in many smoking products which lead to death around the world. The farmers in the Americas used to give the other continents staples, some of them included corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and tobacco.

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The Columbian Exchange is the massive interchange of people, animals, plants and diseases that took place between the Eastern and western Hemisphere after Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. It was the movement of plants, animals and diseases across

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This affected the wealth of the economies specifically by the exchange of the ideas of growing crops and the swapping of animals. The colonies in the New World became efficient producers of some Old World transplants like: sugar, coffee, and wheat. They also struck an interest in animals such as: horses, pigs, cattle, and chickens. While the Old World learned how to grow potatoes, maize, and tobacco. The exchange of the animals inspired new methods of farming, and both the Old and New World seemed to be able to support their colonies with their knowledge of new crops.

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