On August 3rd 1492, a man by the name of Christopher Columbus ventured off into the Atlantic with his crew. Many believed they were on their way to perish, but he and his crew did not. He persevered and battled with the constant problems of his ship and of his crew and was able to establish the first consistent trade network between the New World and the Old World. Through this trade network, a multitude of plants, animals and diseases were introduced to both the New World and the Old World, namely tobacco. The introduction of tobacco to the Old World via the Columbian Exchange changed the world in monumental ways. Tobacco usage changed the world in social, economic, and more recently, political ways. The spread of tobacco became a sort of overnight success as it started out as a plant for medicinal purposes, but changed as it spread to Europe and became popular due to its ritual usage and its high market value, but as history ran its course, …show more content…
This became the world’s first documented exchange between the New World and the Old World. However, this journey was not one that started out of the blue, Columbus had been trying to get this journey underway for a while but had a hard time finding a sponsor to help him offset the fiscal obligations of his journey. He had tried to get the Italian government to back his journey, but they declined, which led him to the doorstep of King Fernando II and Queen Isabel I of Spain. A journey of this magnitude was considered very risky and very expensive, two of the main reasons why the King and Queen of Spain did not want to back the journey. Columbus then put the King and Queen of Spain in a tough situation when he threatened to take his plans to the French. This threat proved to work in his favor as they resentfully agreed to fund the majority of the journey. Columbus began his journey on the 3rd of August in the year 1492 (Columbus,