How Did The Columbian Exchange Affect Empires

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The Columbian Exchange, which started when Europe and the Americas began interacting during exploration, had a big impact on both cultures. It began in the late 15th century and involved swapping animals, plants, diseases, weapons, and ideas between the two worlds. One major result was that Native American populations dropped because they had no immunity to European diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza. These diseases caused huge declines in Native American communities, leading to much smaller populations over many years. This had a big effect on empires like the Inca and Aztec and changed the population patterns in the Americas. Also, the Columbian Exchange changed farming a lot. Europeans brought new crops and animals to the Americas,