The Pros And Cons Of The Columbian Exchange

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The Columbian Exchange was the trade of goods, culture, ideas, etc between the Old World and the New World. The long-term positive that came about from the Columbian Exchange did not justify the short-term negatives. Cultures were dominated and Indians were mistreated. These two outcomes from the Columbian Exchange could have been avoided if a voyager rather than Columbus had sailed and become allies with the natives. One reason why the positives did not outweigh the negatives were the colonialists strategy of cultural domination. In the UCLA Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume four Issue two it states that natives were forbidden to speak in their native language. They were separated from their families and were placed in boarding schools. (2011) These were both methods of how the colonialist strategy dominator culture because it eradicated any trace of the original society. They also wanted to stop the growth of Native population. …show more content…

Spain forced Natives to carry them on their backs. Many natives were killed as a result of weapon testing. (Bartolome de las Casas) This shows that the Spaniards became cruel and treated others like objects as they gained power. The Columbian exchange brought severe segregation that still lives today and some