What Happened During The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange

There used to be a trade between Europe and the Americas, it was called the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange had some positive and negative effects on many people. What exactly is it? What happened during the exchange? How did it affect the people and land that the exchange happened in? In this essay I will be talking about things that happened in the Columbian Exchange and how it affected the entire world. Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions.

The Columbian Exchange refers to the flow of people, ideas, food, diseases, and crops. Christopher Columbus made the voyage to the Americas in 1492. It has been described as one of the most important events in history. The exchange

Indigenous peoples were also enslaved by Europeans to work on plantations. Corn's endurance also aided commercialization in Africa. Commercial parties going by boat or on foot may increase the size of their operations by using food that is kept and carried well. The benefits of corn were especially important for the slave trade, which boomed substantially after 1600. Slaves required nourishment on their long journeys from the Sahara to North Africa or to the Atlantic coast on their way to the Americas. Maize also made it possible to feed legions of slaves while they gathered in coastal barracoons before being carried over the Atlantic, easing the logistical issues of the slave trade.The Europeans would bring slaves to the new world, resulting in the almost 400-year Transatlantic Slave Trade. For many centuries more than twelve million African slaves were shipped to the Americas.(Qian) In the ships they had to be in a lying position with no room to stand up or even move. Many died on the way to the New World from diseases and other things. They had to work from sunrise to sunset and even in terrible conditions. They were treated badly and some died because they wouldn’t eat or the Europeans would kill them. Some Slaves tried to escape but sadly many died because they would get

Some of this stuff that was traded had a positive effect like the food, and the animals that they brought. The introduction of new plants and animals to the Americas, as well as the introduction of new plants back to Europe, altered agriculture and human nutrition. Farmers had a broader selection of plants and animals to choose from starting in the 16th century to earn a living and expand their prospects for wealth. Farmers on all three continents were able to cultivate in previously unfit soils, resulting in increased yields and putting an end to a long history of food instability. (Horgan) If we just consider eastern North America from 1500 to 1700, we can see that this exchange was very uneven. Native crops were distributed, land shapes changed, and disease destroyed Indian communities. They saw their cigarette consumption fuel an Empire. The combination of New World and Old World foods helped in feeding the continent's rising European population. Similarly, African slaves forced to come to the New World unwittingly became a part of the Columbian Exchange as their forced labors further established European rule over the New World. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Transatlantic Slave Trade marked the largest forced migration of individuals in human history, transferring 12-20 million Africans to the Americas. The result of the various exchanges became known as the triangular trade,