APUSH SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2016 – PART THREE – COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
The Columbian Exchange refers to a period of cultural and biological exchanges between the New and Old Worlds, which mostly took place during the 15th and the 16th centuries. Exchanges of plants, animals, diseases and technology transformed European and Native American ways of life. This phenomenon was a result of an accidental voyage from Christopher Columbus on 1492. Christopher Columbus was Italian explorer who, under the auspices of the Catholic monarchs of Spain- King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, accidentally bumped into the Americas whilst finding a way to Asia from the west. He was the reason why the Colombian exchange took place, which led to mass demographic alterations in both the Old World and the New World. The Old World and the New World
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The worst infectious disease which annihilated almost all of the Native American people was Small Pox. Small Pox was an Old World disease which was very contagious, disfiguring, and often deadly. The people of the Americas had no exposure to this kind of disease so when it struck them, they didn’t understand what it was, or how to cure it. So, when the old world people entered Americas, they bought their plants, animals and diseases which they already had exposure to, leading to their population growth, in contrast to Americas where the population declined due to lack to exposure to Old World life. In conclusion, the Columbian exchange changed the way of life of people in both the Worlds. Christopher Columbus was the founder of Americas, which gave rise to the Columbian exchange, which included the spread of important crops like maize, and potatoes to alter populations in the Old World and animals such as horses, and also the spread of diseases such as small pox to the New World which terrorized the Native American people. All in all the Columbian exchange was a global phenomenon which played