The great biological exchange
The many effects of one culture encountering another for the first time can be hard to account for. It doesn’t happen like it used to in this global society we currently live in. However a long time ago it was a tremendous ordeal for so many reasons. One of the most pivotal and historic occurrences of one culture of humans encountering another is called “The great biological exchange”.
It’s termed the biological exchange because the effects of the phenomena weren’t just the plethora of diseases (America, 25) that the Europeans brought with them but also the animals and plants. The effects of this event can be seen to this day by looking at the non-indigenous flora and fauna (America, 23) across the Americas.
While “The great biological exchange” caused a whole variety of occurrences, it is most noted for the amount of deaths it caused. The death tolls it accumulated everywhere the Europeans went. In the densely populated area of central Mexico the casualties are said to have been near 8 million (America, 25). In northern America the indigenous people had an overall smaller population and less concentrated inhabitants. Regardless they experienced a devastating onslaught of diseases that they had no immunity or cure for.
While the native peoples of new world were being ravaged by diseases the
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It undoubtedly would be different in many ways had the Indians been capable of driving the colonizers to alternative locations. But “the great biological exchange” made the whole chain of events go much smoother for the colonizers. Having such ideal growing conditions and a stunned native population the new world quickly become a modern nation. Free from the traditional monarchy system it flourished into a unique and unprecedented destination for immigrants. This was absolutely due to the expedient acclimation the colonizers experienced due to “the great biological
These diseases completely wiped out the 10 million or so Native Americans on the islands and at least ½ of the more than 100 million on the mainland of North America.” The Europeans that came brought diseases that killed many Native Americans and destroyed entire empires. This
America and Europe were two thriving cultures living separately and surviving differently. In Europe they had a lack of land but used their farming space and live stock wisely. America had plenty of land but a shortage of domesticated live stock. The “Columbian Exchange” integrated the pros and cons of each culture. One specific example of foods in the “Columbian Exchange” were pigs.
During this time, Columbus discovered the Eastern hemisphere and completely changed the world. As more and more Europeans came to the new world, they brought over all kinds of diseases. Due to this, the Native American population plummeted. From 1520 to about 1600, the indigenous population in central Mexico went from roughly 25 million to under 2 million (Document 10). Disease played a huge role in this and was primarily the cause of these
The Native Americans lack immunity to these diseases which made them vulnerable to illness and even death. At the tail-end of the battle, the Spaniards brought a devastating disease, Smallpox. Smallpox killed Cuitlahuac and many of his men which ultimately
With them came smallpox, measles, chicken pox, influenza, and many other diseases. “Before the arrival of Columbus, Native American disease wasn’t dominant in the land. Due to the lack of exposure of disease in their younger years, Native Americans were vulnerable to the European diseases that would come with the Columbian Exchange. The diseases would soon destroy many societies of the ancient Aztec, Maya, and Inca. Through many estimates it is foreseen that alien diseases caused over 50% deaths of the Native American population.
Many voyages to American to retrieve goods, caused the trade of goods, animals, plants, and ideas. This movement is known as the Columbian Exchange. Although goods, animals, and such are harmless the most important thing that was brought to America was “Old World” diseases. Just like the redwood forest, that once stretched from the Rockies to the Pacific, and the once numerous bison, the Native Americans almost disappeared. When new diseases were introduced to the Natives, their bodies weren’t able to fight them off.
In the Age of Exploration, the Columbian Exchange was created between Europe and the Americas as a massive exchange of plants, animals, and diseases. In document 2, the Columbian Exchange is depicted, and a main part of it shows how many diseases– smallpox, measles, and typhus– were brought by Europe to the Americas. In The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Miguel Léon-Portilla claims that diseases struck "everywhere in the city and kill[ed] a vast number of... people" (Document 7). The illnesses caused many sores to appear on peoples' faces and bodies. Some people could not walk or move as they were helpless and cried in agony.
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.”
Many of the diseases that the Europeans brought with them were killing the Native Americans at a staggering rate. Death tolls that were seen were sometimes as high as 80-90 percent, and sometimes entire groups of people would vanish entirely (Ojibwa, 2009). The diseases that were introduced by the Europeans could be classified as group diseases that ranged from smallpox to tuberculosis. These diseases were also prevalent amongst the African population as well, however, the Native Americans were much more devastated by the waves of illness. Native Americans were also much more likely to escape and never return because they knew the territory whereas the Africans had almost no chance of escaping once they arrived in the
Native people were weakened and frustrated; causing the power of the government to diminish and weaken, leading to a downfall of the economy too. They lacked food and water which worsened the living conditions and caused natives to catch many diseases like AIDS, malaria and others under the harsh rule. The political units were disrupted while many individuals and groups resisted the European domination. Leading to industrial nations controlling the global
In fact, “Native Americans died in appalling numbers, in many cases up to 90 percent of the population.” The diseases were at its worst in the Aztec and Inca Empires since the people lived close together. However, in the old world, disease related deaths were not nearly as prevalent as in the Americas. The reason for this difference is that the Native Americans had no domesticated animals (except llamas), which resulted in no acquired immunities to old world diseases.
During the early 1400’s European exploration initiated changes in technology, farming, disease and other cultural things ultimately impacting the Native Americans and Europeans. Throughout Columbus’ voyages, he initiated the global exchange that changed the world. The exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New World began soon after Columbus returned to Spain from the Americas. These changes had multiple effects, that were both positive and negative. Although the Columbian Exchange had numerous benefits and drawbacks but the drawbacks outweighs the benefits.
It is estimated that approximately 95% of pre-Columbus Native Americans were killed by European diseases. Since the outbreak of the diseases spread because of the European colonization, it made conquering the Americas much easier. Health was definitely the most detrimental obstacle that the Native Americans had to face as a result of the European
The Exchange also brought new diseases to both hemispheres, though the effects were greatest in the Americas. Smallpox from the Old World wiped out millions of the Native American population to mere fractions of their original
“Almost literally from 1492 (the first voyage), native peoples began to die in large numbers, if not from war than enslavement, brutal treatment, despair, or disease.” Native Americans had virtually no resistances to the invading microbes of disease; typhus,measles,smallpox, and other disastrous epidemics that the Spaniards had resistance built from. Near genocide of the Natives from pathogens nearly the did the job of clearing out the ‘savages’ for the Europeans without them lifting a finger. Though the disease of slavery being the most disgraceful and breaking pandemic of