To begin with, the 15th and 16th centuries mark the commencement of European colonization and the integration of American and European culture. Countless Europeans and American Indians were influenced by one another, throughout the Columbian Exchange. Granted, the Native Americans suffered immensely, but there are more importantly numerous significant advantages to be noticed because of European migration. The Columbian Exchange led to the introduction of various products and sources of food, the merging of different groups of people, and transformations in American government and economy. Without the combination of European and American Indian culture, life today would be incredibly less progressive and different.
Positive effects of the Columbian Exchange was that it gave Europe and America new resources which in turn expanded their knowledge. The got new foods, animals, and materials they wouldn't otherwise have. The bad thing about the Columbian Exchange was that it spread disease between Europe and
The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of goods animals and plants from one country to another. The Columbian Exchange had many impacts. Some of them can still be seen today. One example is introduction of new species. Another is the slave trade that happened.
When Christopher Columbus landed in America he was originally looking for another trade route to Asia. Instead of making it to India he landed in the western hemisphere. Columbus and his men took all of the gold the natives had and forced them to look for more. Although these people were very kind to the Spanish, they were not treated very well.
Traditional history textbooks often include Columbus’ lust for discovering gold and amassing great wealth, but Howard Zinn describes Columbus’ obsession of materialistic prestige and greed to a whole new level. The first example of Columbus’ overwhelming greed can be seen when he and his crew were sailing west. During Columbus’ first voyage, the first person to spot land was promised by the Spanish crown to be rewarded 10,000 maravedis annually for life. Rodrigo, a fellow sailor of Columbus’, spotted the Bahaman shores first.
Economic Effects of the Columbian Exchange Inflation of cash-crops, slavery and silver resulting from the Columbian Exchange caused a drastic effect on the global economy. Cash-crops forged new trade routes across continents, slavery supported New World exports, and silver caused power shifts in the world 's distribution of wealth. As Spanish expeditions to the New World increased in size and purpose, the economic effects on the rest of the world spread with equal vigor. The triangular trade circulated commodities between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. From Europe some commodities were distributed throughout Asia.
In the early 1600's when the first Americans arrived, known as Europeans, they brought with them an abundance of supplies and experience, these include horses, crops, cattle, tools, and technology like the compass. These are the positive aspects that Europeans had on American culture. On the other hand, the main negative effect that Europeans brought along with them to America were their diseases. Most of the first Americans died within the first year of European settlement.
Historians differ on what they think about the net result of the European arrival in the New World. Considering that the Columbian Exchange, which refers to “exchange of plants, animals, people, disease, and culture between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas after Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492,” led to possibly tens of millions of deaths on the side of the American Indians, but also enabled agricultural and technological trade (Henretta et al. 42), I cannot help but reflect on whether the effects should be addressed as a historical or a moral question. The impact that European contact had on the indigenous populations of North America should be understood as a moral question because first, treating it as a historical question is difficult due to lack of reliable historical evidence; second, the meaning of compelling historical claims is contestable as the academic historian perspective tends to view the American Indian oral history as invalid; and finally, what happened to the native Indians is morally repulsive and must be discussed as such. The consequences of European contact should be answered as a moral question because historically, it is hard to be historically objective in the absence of valid and dependable historical evidence.
During the late 1400s and the early 1500s, European expeditioners began to explore the New World. Native Americans, who were living in America originally, were much different than the Europeans arriving at the New World; they had a different culture, diet, and religion. Eventually, both the Native Americans and the European colonists exchanged different aspects of their life. For example, Native Americans gave the Europeans corn, and the Europeans in return gave them modern weapons, such as various types of guns. This type of trade was called “the Columbian Exchange.”
Millions of years ago, the Earth was divided into two the Old and New Worlds. This lasted for quite some time, so long that different evolutions began. For example, on one side of the Atlantic rattlesnakes developed, but on the other, vipers grew. The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of non-native plants, animals, and diseases brought to the Americas from Europe and vice versa. This all happened after 1492.
In terms of benefits the Columbian Exchange only positively affected the lives of the Europeans. They gained many things such as, crops, like maize and potatoes, land in the Americas, and slaves from Africa. On the other hand the negative impacts of the Columbian Exchange are the spread of disease, death, and slavery. In document 3b it states, “... an epidemic broke out, a sickness of pustules… very many people died of them, and many just starved to death; starvation reigned and no one took care of each other.”
The Conquests For The Three G’s God was the excuse, Gold was the motive, and Glory was a fringe benefit during the age of exploration. Many Conquistadors explored new countries, in search of wealth, stature, and empire. During their explorations, many cultures were destroyed by conquest, enslavement, and disease. Therefore, the three G’s were not always easy to come by and during their exploration the conquistadors also brought with them their own perceptions of morality and faith. Due to their own hubris, the explorers’ were blinded to the native Americans’ culture and heritage.
The Columbian Exchange impacted almost every civilization in the world bringing fatal diseases that depopulated many cultures. However a wide variety of new crops
The intended audience of the article “ The Columbian Exchange- a History of Disease, Food and Ideas” are scholars and students. The article has large amount of statistics provided about the amount of production of certain foods in certain countries, the amount of exchange between the old world and the new world and the top consuming countries for various new world foods. The foods discovered also includes their benefits and harms. 2. The author’s main argument is that the new world has several impacts on the old world which includes many pros and cons.
While the colonization of the America’s was negative for many reasons such as the spread of illnesses, and the forcing of religion upon natives, it was also beneficial to the Native’s because it allowed them to have better weapons and to have different foods and goods in their lives. The Europeans exposed the Natives to many new diseases once they colonized the new areas they discovered. The Europeans greatly impacted the family life and religion of the inhabitants of the areas they found. There was also a lot of exchange going on during the conquest of the Americas because the Natives were excited by the new gadgets they had never seen before that the Europeans brought over.
