Short And Long Term Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

After Christopher Columbus arrived in America in 1492, the Columbian Exchange marked a turning point in the history of humanity. This was the initial creation of globalization allowing people to understand that our entire world was intertwined. This impactful event had many ups and downs throught its history however at the end of the day it has shaped the trading system of modern day. The Columbian Exchange created relations between the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) and the New World (the Americas), the benefits and negatives that each side experienced, and the long-lasting impacts that have still affected the world.
A vast range of commodities were exchanged between Old and the New Worlds, thanks to the Columbian Exchange. The introduction of cash crops like potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco from the colonies revolutionized European agriculture. As mentioned in the American Pageant. textbook, “New World plants such as tobacco, maize, beans, tomatoes, and especially the lowly potato eventually revolutionized the international economy as well as the European diet, feeding the rapid population growth of the Old World.”

"The Columbian Exchange has provided economists interested in the long term effects of history on economic development with a rich historical laboratory."(Latini, 164) This describes the economic growth that colonial America faced which triggered a thought of self-governing even though it wasn't established yet. An example of this is through the House of Burgesses. Additionally the Columbian Exchange triggered a form of enlightenment, which is seen through exchange of goods from one country to another and using those goods that were collected to grow the current economic state. Not only did the Columbian Exchange change the economic state of England and colonial America but also the political