How Did The Carianbian Exchange Affect The Nigerian Exchange

The Colombian Exchange was a global trade that changes many things in the economy. The things that it effected included farming and cattle, labor systems, and the silver trade, which all spread widely around the world in different ways. These examples are but a few of the things that were affected by the global Colombian Exchange.

Agriculture and pastoral production were both similar trades that changed dramatically once the Colombian exchange began. Cash crops became very important in the New World, as seen here: "some crops, such as sugar cane, thrived, and provided the basis for the rise of plantation economies..." 1 Plantation economies were centered around crops such as sugar and tobacco, which sold for quite a bit. In addition to that, plantations were dependent on slave work, which was also an integral part of the Colombian Exchange.
In a court document from China, it was said that "the Spanish have silver mountains, which they mint into silver coins."5 Silver had become very important to the world, especially after the massive silver deposits were found in the New World. China had a special liking for silver, and because China had the greatest goods to trade, silver was something that people wanted in order to trade with China. However, the flow of silver also negatively impacted several things, such as farming. One account from a Ming Dynasty official stated that "…the reason grain is cheap despite poor harvests...is due entirely to the scarcity of the silver coin."6 The Chinese government required that taxes be paid in silver for quite a while. This took a toll on the farmers in China, and ultimately, China's obsession with silver is part of what led the Ming dynasty to its downfall when the value of silver plummeted. The flow of silver throughout the world was a part of the Colombian Trade that ended up having both good and bad impacts on the