Columbian Exchange
Columbian Exchange
Can you imagine Italian food without tomatoes or tomato
sauce? How about Texas or Mexico without horses, cows, or bulls?
Before the Europeans accidentally stumbled upon the American continents, both the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and the New
World (North and South America) were very different places.
Can you imagine Italian food without tomatoes or tomato
sauce? How about Texas or Mexico without horses, cows, or bulls?
Before the Europeans accidentally stumbled upon the American continents, both the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and the New
World (North and South America) were very different places.
Humans first arrived and settled in the Americas around 12,000
BCE (around the same time that Sumerians in Mesopotamia were first
experimenting with agriculture). Humans were able to cross from
northeastern Asia into Alaska, and down into the Americas because of
the Bering Land Bridge, a chunk of ice that once made a bridge between Asia and North America. Once that ice receded, communication
and movement between the Old World and the New World ceased,
with only the Vikings ever exploring land in the Americas, and then only
briefly.
Humans first arrived and settled in the Americas around 12,000
BCE (around the same time that Sumerians in Mesopotamia were first
experimenting with agriculture). Humans were able to cross from
northeastern Asia into Alaska, and down into the Americas because of
the Bering Land Bridge, a chunk of ice that once made a bridge between Asia and North America. Once that ice receded, communication
and movement between the Old World and the New World ceased,
with only the Vikings ever exploring land in the Americas, and then only
briefly.
Because of this isolation, the populations of the Old World and
New World developed very separately and differently from one another. People in Europe built immunities to diseases, and cultivated plants
and animals that were native to their own region, and Native Americans did the same. Once Europeans landed in the Americas, though,
this all changed very quickly. The resulting exchange of diseases,
plants, and animals is referred to by historians as the Columbian Exchange, named for Christopher Columbus.
Because of this isolation, the populations of the Old World and
New World developed very separately and differently from one another. People in Europe built immunities to diseases, and cultivated plants
and animals that were native to their own region, and Native Americans did the same. Once Europeans landed in the Americas, though,
this all changed very quickly. The resulting exchange of diseases,
plants, and animals is referred to by historians as the Columbian Exchange, named for Christopher Columbus.
There were both positive and negative effects of the Columbian
Exchange. The New World boasted several crops that did not exist in
Europe prior to contact, but which became very important and popular
once they were brought back by explorers and conquerors. Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin, tobacco, vanilla, and chocolate are all examples of foods that did not exist in the Europe until the 16th century.
However, the sexually transmitted disease syphilis was also brought
from the Americas to Europe, ravaging the population there.
There were both positive and negative effects of the Columbian
Exchange. The New World boasted several crops that did not exist in
Europe prior to contact, but which became very important and popular
once they were brought back by explorers and conquerors. Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin, tobacco, vanilla, and chocolate are all examples of foods that did not exist in the Europe until the 16th century.
However, the sexually transmitted disease syphilis was also brought
from the Americas to Europe, ravaging the population there.
The Americas prior to contact lacked many large animals. They
had buffalo and llamas, but buffalo were never domesticated, and llamas were never used to transport goods or carry humans as a means of
transportation. The Europeans imported horses, cows, and pigs, fundamentally changing the landscape and economy of the Americas forever. However, they also brought diseases that decimated the native
population such as small pox, measles, and yellow fever. Europeans
had had these diseases for thousands of years, and had built up immunity over time as those who had a natural degree of immunity were
the ones who most often passed on their genes to the successive generation. Native Americans, however, had never been exposed to these
diseases, and so had no natural immunity at all, and no time to build
any up. Tens of millions of Native Americans died from these diseases
over the course of the next few decades.
The Americas prior to contact lacked many large animals. They
had buffalo and llamas, but buffalo were never domesticated, and llamas were never used to transport goods or carry humans as a means of
transportation. The Europeans imported horses, cows, and pigs, fundamentally changing the landscape and economy of the Americas forever. However, they also brought diseases that decimated the native
population such as small pox, measles, and yellow fever. Europeans
had had these diseases for thousands of years, and had built up immunity over time as those who had a natural degree of immunity were
the ones who most often passed on their genes to the successive generation. Native Americans, however, had never been exposed to these
diseases, and so had no natural immunity at all, and no time to build
any up. Tens of millions of Native Americans died from these diseases
over the course of the next few decades.