Negative Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

With the arrival of the Western World to the Americas there were both positive and negative outcomes. These two cultures collided together in a way rarely seen in history. This became known as the Columbian Exchange. Looking at the big picture the overwhelming negative was the violence the Native Americans withstood from the Western World. Whereas two positives are the mass globalization of crops and the globalization of animals.

To start with the violence from the Western World, look towards the Spaniards. Juan de Oñate led an invasion and massacre of Acoma, killing hundreds of natives. Chapter two of The American Yawp states, “Oñate ordered one foot cut off every surviving male over age fifteen, and he enslaved the remaining women and children” (par. 8). This demonstrates the gravity of which the Natives were abused by the Western World, and showed the “Black Legend” as not just political propaganda, but the true side of European Violence. Next, Columbus’s conquering of the Caribbean islands. When initially arriving on the islands he respected the

Take a look at the globalization of crops in both the Americas and Europe. One of the most essential food staples, maize/corn, was brought over to Europe and Asia. Slide 54 states, “It grew in places unsuitable for tubers and grains and sometimes gave two or even three harvests a year.” This demonstrates how the versatility of corn aided Europe and even Asia. However, this was not the only crop to have a significant impact from the New World. Crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, peppers, etc. all had the ability to grow in new regions of the world. Chapter one of The American Yawp states, “The Americas’ calorie-rich crops revolutionized Old World agriculture and spawned a worldwide population boom” (par. 57). This demonstrates that the Columbian Exchange did not only benefit one country or continent but the entire