What the colonists began to see were effects like increasing winds due to lack of windbreaks, loss of root cover from monocropping, and flooding as a result plant
After the British defeated the Spaniards the Settlers arrived to America and now is when the real exchange of plants and animals would take place.
The habitats of the world became so different, and so extreme, that the residents of the two worlds were greatly influenced. Some of the most dominant things brought from the Old World to the New World were animals such as chickens, pigs, and horses,
As England’s demand for tobacco grew, Rolfe’s cash crop became the savior of many colonies. Similar to Jamestown, due to rough weather a number of colonies were not able to produce much of any agriculture, causing the lack of income and food. John Rolfe’s tobacco plant that originated in Virginia helped many of the other thirteen colonies in ways similar to Jamestown. With the spread of Rolfe’s significant economic force brought indentured servants, slaves, plantations, and high roles in colonial governments, but also brought conflict to the New World. The plant that all started with John Rolfe ultimately influenced the dawn of this nation because of the major influence tobacco had on the French and Indian War.
The Columbian Exchange between the new world and the old world significantly change people’s lives. After 1492, Europeans brought in horses to America which changes the nomadic Native American groups’ living from riding on buffalos to horses. This interchange also change the diet of the rest of the world with foods such as corns (maize), potatoes which are major diet for European nowadays. Besides all the animals from old world to the new world, Spanish also brought in the diseases that Native Americans were not immune of, such as smallpox which led to a large amount of Native Americans’ deaths.
These things brought many changes to both the New World and the Old World. For example, the plants that were brought into Europe had many effects in the way the Europeans say them as. For example, Long-Solis (2003) said, “Maize and beans, subsistence crops throughout much of the Americas, prospered well in the Mediterranean Basin. Tomatoes and chili peppers adapted easily to the new atmosphere.” All these plants brought into the Europeans had an effect in the European diet.
America started to gain land, starting with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This jumpstarted the need to explore these newly found lands. There were many new things to find and see in these unexplored lands. Finding new plants could help with creating new medicine.
The Columbian exchange was a sort of bridge between two very different cultures and, as Alfred W. Crosby said, it was very hard to find any crops that the two civilizations (the Old World and the New World, so to speak) shared. Horses, wheat, pigs, sugar cane, rice, and grape vines -- along with many other things -- could only be found in the Old World. Likewise, corn, sweet potatoes, alpaca, peanuts, and tobacco were all from the New World. Some of these things, wheat, rice, and corn in particular, are staples nowadays and we would be in trouble if something happened to one of those things. As Crosby said, “[Wheat] is one of Europe’s greatest gifts to the Americas”.
Soon after, southeastern colonies started planting sugarcane, too. It became one of the largest cash crops in history. (G, Johnson) Biological changes happened unintentionally through the Columbus Exchange. The Old World brought invasive plant and animal species into the New World. The native species had no natural predators.
This ideal way of life clashed with the worldview of Europeans. Early European colonizers believed that because Native Americans were not using the vast amount of land which included forest to maximize their profits, then they were justified for colonizing North American land. This settlement led to the enslavement of people, worldwide distribution of diseases, and transfer of goods that shaped America to what it is today.
Wheat, oats, and barely are all new foods brought to the Americas which also had weeds in between the seeds which displaced native flora and fauna.
This bothered Indians and some colonists. The animals, mostly hogs, destroyed fields and served as prey to the increasing wolf population. The cattle and sheep made the pastures flat and hard similar to the pastures in Europe. The livestock also made the soil more compact causing the soil to carry less water, making the land a less inhabitable environment for plants. This resulted in the Native Americans losing their crops.
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.
Some states thrived under the trade, while others economically deteriorated so drastically that they continue to suffer today. Despite the consequences, the trade connected the world closer than ever before. A main reason why Europeans colonized the New World with such swiftness and determination lay in the drinks of nobles and the soil of peasants. Sugar was in high demand during the 1500s and 1600s, and the fertile coasts of the Carribean and Brazil made for a perfect environment. Sugar cane was just the tip of the iceberg: Europeans soon discovered crops native to the Americas that heavily impacted world economy, a prime example being the potato.
A few of these included wheat, oaks, rice, barley, bananas, sugar cane, and even that nice cup of coffee everyone seems to enjoy. Plants that are native to the New World and extended to the Old World were mainly compromised of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and cocoa. The animals that were transported from Europe were usually cows, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep while on the other “world” there was only one; the mighty and ferocious llama. These plants and animals were not much harm to the Native Americans when introduced, although one things that was an immense threat were the diseases and the impact they left behind the New World was not known for diseases and are hardly and recordings of them at all before the Europeans settled. However, the Europeans were notorious for illnesses since they were not much for hygiene.
