Columbian Exchange Essay - 960 Words

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an ambitious voyager seeking new land for King Ferdinand and Spain, landed in the Caribbean where he found natives growing crops such as tobacco, peanuts, and sweet potatoes. Columbus and his men traded wheat, barley, and rice with the natives for these goods and thus created the Columbian Exchange.The Columbian Exchange was a widespread transfer of plants ,ideas, human populations,and cultures during the 15th and 16th century that brought together the eastern and western hemispheres in trade. The nations that were involved in the columbian exchange was the new world that consisted of native americans and the old world that consisted of europeans. The Columbian exchange was very significant because it showed†¦show more content†¦(gilderlehrman.org). Although the new world contracted multiple devastating illnesses, they arguably benefited more from the exchange than the europeans. One of the major items native americans and the new world recei ved was advanced technology to help them with hunting, and farming. One example of a technology was the plow. The plow helped many natives and europeans cultivate large amounts of land which made it easier to grow lots of crops. Because of the plow there was a greater number of crop fields and crop outputs that lead to establishment of towns and better economic growth. The final developed item were the weapons. Advanced weapons from europeans helped natives hunt and fish more conveniently. Weapons include, Firearms,Steel and iron knives, spears, and hatchets. The guns made it easier to kill larger animals, and one article states, â€Å"Weapons had such a profound impact on the Native American culture that they soon became the most widely traded goods between Europeans and Natives†(http://public.gettysburg.edu/). Weapons benefited the native americans because it allowed tribes to hunt easier using stronger weapons to kill animals quicker and more efficiently. This shows th at technology given from the europeans helped the New world greatly because it made it easier to gain access to food which would increase life expectancy, and would also increase economic growth because the largeShow MoreRelatedEssay On The Columbian Exchange816 Words   |  4 PagesThe Columbian Exchange The discovery of the New world or America in the year 1492, and The Columbian Exchange it played a significant role on bring resources to various parts of the world. It brought the exchange of various resources like plants, animals, and diseases across the world. The year was 1492 is when Christopher set sail and put in motion The Columbian Exchange or also known as The Great Exchange. The Columbian Exchange affected the geographic location with the trading routes withRead More Columbian Exchange Essay2042 Words   |  9 Pagesof the Old and New World has come to be known as the Columbian Exchange. During these explorations, the Europeans brought diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, typhoid and bubonic plague to the New World, wiping out entire Indian populations. There were also many other populations wiped out due to complications that came from this exchange. Were these explorations and the wiping out of entire populations worth the benefits gained by the exchange? The Beginning Christopher Columbus was a famousRead MoreEssay on The Columbian Exchange1075 Words   |  5 PagesColombian Exchange was an extensive exchange between the eastern and western hemispheres as knows as the Old World and New World. The Colombian exchange greatly affects almost every society. It prompted both voluntary and forced migration of millions of human beings. 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The Columbian exchange caused numerous short and long-term effects in the Americas and many otherRead MoreThe Impacts of the Columbian Exchange Essay example1338 Words   |  6 PagesThe Columbian Exchange has been called the â€Å"greatest human intervention in nature since the invention of agriculture† (Grennes 2007). The exchange of diseases, plants, and animals lead to a global cultural and economic shift throughout the Old and New Worlds following Christopher Columbus discovery of the Americas in 1492. The Eastern Hemisphere saw an influx of raw materials, new staple crops, and the income from and production of gro wing crops that were too resource intensive for Europe andRead MoreEssay on Positive and Negative Effects of the Columbian Exchange788 Words   |  4 Pagesmalefactor. Illnesses like malaria were unfair players because the natives had no built up immunity to them. Few of the Americans survived these diseases which made it easier for an eventual complete take over of native land through bioterrorism. The Columbian Exchange was a large benefit to both sides, but it made the Native Americans loose more of their culture than Europeans. By integrating so many Old World ideas, it became harder and harder to identify their true culture. Even today, one could go to anRead MoreEssay on The Columbian Exchange: Between the Old World and New World490 Words   |  2 PagesThe Columbian Exchange is a global exchange of goods and ideas between the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) and the New World (America). When Columbus first discovered America, Spain wanted to set up colonies. Columbus fo und some people that he named â€Å"Indians.† They colonies started to trade with each other, and by doing do, they started the Columbian Exchange. Many countries were involved in this trade, including China, Africa and Italy. This exchange of new ideas, traditions, food, religionRead MoreHow the Columbian Exchange Changed Our World Forever810 Words   |  3 Pagesbeen brought to our regions. After this discovery, the Columbian exchange started: products were transported from the New World to the Old World and vice versa. This exchange had an enormous influence on the world: without the Columbian exchange, the world would not be the same as the one we know today. In his essay, Charles C. Mann (2007) called the exchange the most important event after the death of the dinosaurs. Firstly, the Columbian exchange dramatically transformed the American ecological environment