What Are The Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange
Kristy L. Atkins
People & the Land: Intro to Cultural Geography
Thematic Essay #1
Mr. Gerald Golden

Alfred Crosby dubbed it the Columbian Exchange. Simply describing the interchanges between the Old World and the Americas, these interchanges included animals, plants, and diseases; and took place in the Caribbean in 1492 after Columbus arrived. Ironically enough, the Columbian Exchange was an astonishing benefit to Europe and its colonies, while being a complete misfortune for the Native Americans.
The Columbian Exchange was a quite indistinct concept, and developed by a fairly ambiguous individual. I, like most people, had never heard of it. Yet, the Columbian Exchange may very well be one of the single most
After the Native Americans overcame their fear of the animal, they eventually learned how to ride and raise horses for themselves. The horse allowed the Native American tribes to hunt buffalo more proficiently, and the Native Americans relied a great deal on the buffalo as a source of food (McNeill).
Overall, the passage of domesticated and non-domesticated animals from the Old World to the New World made an enormous impact. For example, some of these impacts were the restoration of the grasslands and reforming of labor. Overgrazing by massive herds of sheep was the reason behind the transformation of the grasslands; and the new availability of large animals were now the new power force on the land; because before the exchange the Native Americans had no animals large enough to burden the hard labor (The Columbian Exchange). So when the explorers brought these news animals across the ocean it introduced a whole new form of transportation, labor, and food sources to the Natives. Ironic enough, even when the humans would get plagued with diseases, the animals were rarely ever distressed with these diseases, so the animals continued to flourish even when the humans were dying off because of these diseases
If not for Columbus beginning this interchange between the Old and New Worlds, we may have never been introduced to some of the foods or animals that we know and love today. Also, though the diseases were a big demise of the Columbian Exchange, had it not been for the Columbian Exchange, some of the cures or vaccinations may have never been made to treat these illnesses. So the historical significance has, and always will be, incredible when it comes to the Columbian Exchange.

Work Cited
"The Columbian Exchange (Overview)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2015. <http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com>.
McNeill, J. R. "5.1 The Columbian Exchange." The Columbian Exchange. Learn NC, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Long-Sol, and "Columbian Exchange." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. "Columbian Exchange." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2003. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. "The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas." Journal of Economic Perspectives 24.2 (2010): 163-88. The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas. Scholar.harvard.edu, 3 Mar. 2010. Web. 9 Feb.