Columbian Exchange
- Submitted by: buna1199
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- Category: History: American
- Date Submitted: 08/23/2013 01:34 AM
- Pages: 10
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Geologists believe that between 280 million and 225 million years ago, the earth’s previously separate land areas became welded into a landmass called Pangaea. About 120 million years ago, they believe, this landmass began to separate. As this happened, the Atlantic Ocean formed, dividing the Americas from Africa and Eurasia. Over the course of the next several million years in both the Americas and in Afro-Eurasia, biological evolution followed individual paths, creating two primarily separate biological worlds. However, when Christopher Columbus and his crew made land in the Bahamas in October 1492, these two long-separated worlds were reunited. Columbus’ voyage, along with the many voyages that followed, disrupted much of the biological segregation brought about by continental drift.
After Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, the animal, plant, and bacterial life of these two worlds began to mix. This process, first studied comprehensively by American historian Alfred Crosby, was called the Columbian Exchange. By reuniting formerly biologically distinct land masses, the Columbian Exchange had dramatic and lasting effects on the world. New diseases were introduced to American populations that had no prior experience of them. The results were devastating. These populations also were introduced to new weeds and pests, livestock, and pets. New food and fiber crops were introduced to Eurasia and Africa, improving diets and fomenting trade there. In addition, the Columbian Exchange vastly expanded the scope of production of some popular drugs, bringing the pleasures — and consequences — of coffee, sugar, and tobacco use to many millions of people. The results of this exchange recast the biology of both regions and altered the history of the world.
The flow from east to west: Disease
By far the most dramatic and devastating impact of the Columbian Exchange followed the introduction of new diseases into the Americas. When the first inhabitants of the Americas...
After Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, the animal, plant, and bacterial life of these two worlds began to mix. This process, first studied comprehensively by American historian Alfred Crosby, was called the Columbian Exchange. By reuniting formerly biologically distinct land masses, the Columbian Exchange had dramatic and lasting effects on the world. New diseases were introduced to American populations that had no prior experience of them. The results were devastating. These populations also were introduced to new weeds and pests, livestock, and pets. New food and fiber crops were introduced to Eurasia and Africa, improving diets and fomenting trade there. In addition, the Columbian Exchange vastly expanded the scope of production of some popular drugs, bringing the pleasures — and consequences — of coffee, sugar, and tobacco use to many millions of people. The results of this exchange recast the biology of both regions and altered the history of the world.
The flow from east to west: Disease
By far the most dramatic and devastating impact of the Columbian Exchange followed the introduction of new diseases into the Americas. When the first inhabitants of the Americas...