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Cultural exchange in the columbian exchange
Cultural exchange in the columbian exchange
Modern impact of columbian exchange
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1. How did the Columbian exchange lead to redistributions of power and population? In your response, examine a range of changes brought by the Columbian exchange.
When Columbus arrived in 1492 it ended the ages old separation between the two hemispheres, connecting the western hemisphere to Europe. During this period there was interexchange of plants, goods, technology and diseases between the two parties which had its many advantages and disadvantages for both of the parties. This interexchange of goods, plants and etc. is known as Columbian Exchange.
When the Spaniards first came to the new world they brought a various of things to the New world. They brought things which very common back in Europe like horses, iron technology, firearms, wheeled vehicles, sailing ships and etc. But with themselves they also brought many diseases into the new world. The diseases which made the whole Columbian Exchange extremely unsuccessful for the Indians. Native American people, goods, ideas were also exchanged during Columbian exchange. Potatoes and corn became an important part of an European daily meal.
The Native Americans came in contact with diseases which they were not known of, also their bodies had not developed any immunity against these diseases i.e. smallpox, chicken pox, malaria. For example in 1738, a smallpox epidemic killed
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In the New world Spaniards obviously had an upper hand because they had firearms and big armies which took over many Native American lands hence had more power in the New world. Back home in Europe during 1500’s a new economic policy called Mercantilism was introduced. Mercantilist thought there was fixed amount of wealth in the world. Wealth of a nation was determined by the amount of silver and gold it possessed and as we know the Spaniards were using the native americans as labor to mine gold and silver and take it back home which made them powerful back home as
As we all know from the memorable song, in 1492 Columbus sailed to find the New World, commonly known as the Americas. Many idolize Columbus for his accomplishment in colonizing the Americas and starting the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange is the sharing of plants, animals, diseases, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres as a direct result of Columbus’ arrival to the Americas. However, we often oversee the downfalls of the Columbian Exchange. Some consequences of the exchange are the spread of disease to the Native people and settlers, the destruction of the Native population, and the disappearance of the Natives custom’s, beliefs, and way of life.
The Columbian Exchange impacted Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans in many ways. Some of the major components of this exchange were plants, animals, and diseases. The Native Americans was impacted because they did not have immune systems capable of handling diseases such as; small pox, the plague, and yellow fever. This resulted in the population of Native Americans being cut by at least 90% over the course of a couple hundred years and making it easier for foreigners to come in and take over. The animal that helped the Native Americans was the horse. It helped them expand and explore places other than agricultural plains like mountains. The Europeans brought back tobacco. Tabaco then lead to many deaths because of its health issues involved with the use. They also got introduced to tomatoes which people thought for a long time was not edible. Africans acquired potatoes and maize, which became a main staple in Africa.
Columbian Exchange, which also call the Grand Exchange, is an exchange of animals, crops, pollution (European and African), culture, infectious diseases and ideology between the eastern and western hemisphere in 15th and 16th centuries. Alfred W. Crosby first proposed this concept in his book “ The Columbian Exchange”, which published in 1972.
“As European adventurers traversed the world in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries they initiated the “Columbian Exchange” of plants, animals, and diseases.”(P. 26). The Columbian Exchange refers to a period of exchanges between the New and Old Worlds. The exchange of plants, animals, diseases and more modernized technology, beginning after Columbus landing in the Americas in 1492. It lasted through the fifteenth and sixteenth century. Domesticated animals such as cattle, horses, sheep and pigs were introduced to the Americas. The Americas introduced to Europe many new crops such as potatoes, beans, squash, and maize. In time Native people learned to raise European livestock and European and Africans planted American crops. This was the positive effect of the encounter and it was largely responsible for the doubling of the world’s population in the next three hundred years. There were also many negative effects to the “Columbian Exchange” A major consequence was the spread of disease in the New World. Diseases carried by Europeans and Africans devastated the population of the Americas. As Europeans traveled through the Americas epidemics came with them. Typhus, diphtheria, malaria, influenza, cholera, and smallpox killed many of the native people. One example was
The Columbian exchange was the widespread transfer of various products such as animals, plants, and culture between the Americas and Europe. Though most likely unintentional, the byproduct that had the largest impact from this exchange between the old and new world was communicable diseases. Europeans and other immigrants brought a host of diseases with them to America, which killed as much as ninety percent of the native population. Epidemics ravaged both native and nonnative populations of the new world destroying civilizations. The source of these epidemics were due to low resistance, poor sanitation, and inadequate medical knowledge- “more die of the practitioner than of the natural course of the disease (Duffy).” These diseases of the new world posed a serious
Columbian Exchange or the big exchange was a great exchange on a wide range of animals (Horses, Chickens, sheep, swine, Turkey), plants (Wheat, barley, corn, beans, tomatoes), people and culture, infectious diseases, and ideas, technology (Wheeled vehicles, iron tools, metallurgy) all these things happened between Native Americans and from Europe after the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Resulting in communication between the two cultures to initiate a number of crops that have led to the increase in population in both hemispheres, where the explorers returned to Europe loaded with corn, tomatoes, potatoes, which has become one of the main crops in Eurasia with the solutions of the eighteenth century. At the same time, the Europeans crops, cassava and peanuts to Southeast Asia with a tropical climate.
When Columbus sailed the ocean in 1492 he came upon a new landmass, now known as the Bahamas which had never been “discovered” before. As they explored they discovered this landmass already had a population of people of its own. As Europeans marched in to trade their goods, they came in contact with the Native Americans making it possible for the spread of animals, crops, and diseases. This interaction came to be known as The Columbian Exchange. As the New World started to shape up from the help of the Old World many advantages and disadvantages formed. The Old World started to grow in numbers as their famine problem decreased due to the newly exchanged crops that they acquired. Native Americans shifted to a more nomadic lifestyle as horses
The Columbian Exchange was a time during the 1490’s, where many animals and foods were traded between the Old and New World. They also exchanged ideas and cultures, but unfortunately, they also spread diseases. The Columbian Exchange had more of a negative impact on our world because of the need for slavery and the spread of tobacco.
When Europeans came to the New World they unwittingly brought with them several deadly diseases that the native people had to immunity to, smallpox being the major killer. These affected the native people so greatly that some wrote, “Great was the stench of death…. The dogs and vultures the bodies. The mortality was terrible… with them died the son of the king and his brothers and kinsmen…. We were born to die!” (Doc. 1). This chronicle written by the Cakchiquel Mayas gives us insight on how great a toll these diseases had on the people. Albeit this was not the only thing killing their people. Hernan Cortes was one of the many conquistadors that invaded the native people’s lands, killing them if they offered any resistance (Doc. 2). With so many of these people sick and dying there were
The Columbian Exchange allowed the world to share its resources and discover new ways of living. It opened the doors for new discoveries, trade, and raised the economy of many countries. People throughout Europe were given the opportunity to travel to the newly discovered lands of the Americas and begin new lives.
The Colombian 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. There are both positive and negative effects that you can see from the Colombian Exchange. The Colombian Exchange explorers created contact between Europe and the Americas. The interaction with Native Americans began the exchange of animals, plants, disease, and weapons. The most significant effects that the Colombian Exchange had on the Old World and New World were its changes in agriculture, disease, culture, and its effects on ecology.
The Americas, unknown until Christopher Columbus’ voyage in 1492, became a major part of the world economy as many European nations colonized much of the land. Large sea trade arose during this time period, first by the Portuguese and Spanish and later by the English, French and Dutch. As European countries began exploring the Americas, an exchange of crops, animals, raw materials, diseases and new ideas were exchanged between the Americas and the rest of the world. This is known as the Columbian Exchange. One major component of the Columbian Exchange was the discovery of tobacco.
Although the Columbian Exchange made the Native American population significantly decrease and horses, pigs, cattle, goats, and sheep were all brought to the Americas during the Columbian Exchange, the Americas continued to grow their staple crops such as potatoes and corn after the Columbian Exchange’s effect on the society. The Columbian Exchange was a very crucial event in American history. Without the Columbian Exchange, the Americas would not have large mammals big enough to domesticate. Also, the Americas might have had a higher population of Native Americans left over after the Columbian Exchange and the Black Death.
The Columbian exchange affected the European and native societies both socially and culturally. Some of the effects include increased mortality rates and education. It expanded communication across the world and expanded the trade of plants and animals. It also produced advancements in agriculture and technology. For European societies these effects were mainly positive and for native societies these effects were mainly negative. A very drastic effect on the native societies was the increased mortality rates, with the native population declining 90% after the arrival of the Europeans. These extremely high mortality rates were due to Europeans diseases and violence (p. 1-3). This of course greatly devastated societies Native of the Americas
Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them. This triggered the largest population decline in all recorded history. Fifty percent of the Native American population had died of disease within twenty years. Soon after, Native Americans began to question their religion and doubted the ability of shamen to heal. This was the first step towards the destruction of Native cultures. The Native Americans had never experienced anything like these deadly diseases before and they came to believe that Europeans had the power to kill or give life.