COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

    In 1492 Columbus went on a voyage sponsored by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. He wanted to prove that you could reach the East Indies by sailing west. Columbus eventually landed on a tiny Caribbean Island. This voyage started what is now known as the Columbian Exchange. The book “The American Promise” defined the Columbian Exchange as “a transatlantic trade of goods, people, and ideas that has continued ever since”. The Columbian Exchange had long lasting impacts that greatly affected the culture of both the Europeans and Native Americans. Three major impacts include plants, technology, and disease. 

    When the English first came to the new world they struggled to find enough food to eat, and starvation was quickly approaching. This happened because the men that came over to the new world came without skills. According to Dr. Holden, a professor at Greenville College, “mainly rich men came over”. Fortunately the Indians brought over food, therefore, introducing them to provisions such as maize and potatoes. The colonists would trade their goods such as iron pots, steel knives, and axes. These plants grew in popularity among the colonies. The maize was popular because it was adaptable and grew quickly. In the same way, the potatoes were also important because of the fact that it “could resist cold and grow in thin soil” (Malone). It even made its way back to England. Tobacco also became widely known and demanded in England. It quickly became a cash crop in certain colonies. One plant that was introduced to the new world was sugarcane. It was difficult to grow in England, but the climate in North America made it ideal for growing. People quickly became addicted. It was “used in coffee, tea, chocolate, and rum ... making it one of the largest cash crops in history” (Malone).

          Furthermore, technology had a great impact on the Native Americans. The Europeans taught the Indians formal written language. In order to break down language and cultural barriers the “Europeans educated Natives by teaching them to read and write a European language...thus integrating culture” (Malone). One of the main motivations for educating the Native Americans was for trading purposes and to convert them to Christianity. They believed that if the Natives became Christians they would be better people and less barbaric. However, the Natives learning to write really only benefited the Europeans. Another form of technology introduced was weapons. The Indians primarily used bows and arrows when hunting but they would need more than one arrow to kill larger animals. After witnessing the power of a gun they realized that they could use that to hunt larger animals quicker. At the same time horses were introduced and provided Indians with a quicker way to chase down animals. Europeans also brought the plow to the new world which “cultivated large areas of land creating a surplus of plants for both Natives and Europeans” (Malone). Since the soil was rich, crop fields were established which brought about towns and farms. Even the Natives started to set up villages and settle down instead of constantly moving.

          Unfortunately, the Columbian Exchange also brought about negative effects. The Europeans spread deadly diseases to Native Americans.  Some of these diseases included influenza, small pox, and measles. The infectious diseases were unintentionally brought and the Native Americans mainly were infected, “due to the biological isolation and the limited intrusion of infectious diseases” (Crouthamel). These diseases killed about “80-90%” of the Native population. The deadliest disease was the small pox. The diseases spread rapidly because they were transported by air and touch. The Natives were not the only ones to be infected. The Europeans also became infected with certain diseases. However, the number of diseases that the Europeans were infected by was much smaller. They were infected by syphilis, polio, hepatitis, and Encephalitis.  The main disease that affected the Europeans was syphilis. It started out small then quickly became epidemic reaching Europe and infecting a large number of people

          Therefore, food, technology, and disease had a great impact on the culture of both the new and old world. There were not only positive impacts but also negative impacts that came from the Columbian Exchange. While the introduction of new foods helped increase population, the spread of infectious diseases also decreased population. Both negative and positive affects have impacted the European and Native Americans in ways that neither could image. 

Bibliography:

Crouthamel, Stephen J. "Columbian Exchanges." Columbian Exchanges. Palomar College, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. http://www2.palomar.edu/users/scrouthamel/colexc.htm.

Malone, Cory, Sarah Gray, Sean Ross, and Katie Ryan. "The Columbian Exchange." The Columbian Exchange. Gettsyburg College, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. http://public.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/hist106web/site19/index.html.

Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, and Susan M. Hartman. The American Promise. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.