History of the Columbian Exchange
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Today we often use the word "globalization" when talking about interactions between different countries and regions of the world. This idea of globalization can refer to anything from the trade of goods between nations, to large corporations that have presence around the world. However, these worldwide interactions were not always common place. Before Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, the world was divided by these vast oceans. Christopher Columbus with his maiden voyage started a tsunami of exchange between these divided worlds, that today we know as the Columbian Exchange. This exchange had dramatic and lasting effects on the world.
Alfred W. Crosby coined the term "Columbian Exchange" to refer to the exchange of goods that ensued after the connecting of the divided worlds by Columbus. In an interview with Smithsonian.com, Alfred W. Crosby was asked to define his term Columbian Exchange, "In 1491, the world was in many of its aspects and characteristics a minimum of two worlds—the New World, of the Americas, and the Old World, consisting of Eurasia and Africa. Columbus brought them together, and almost immediately and continually ever since, we have had an exchange of native plants, animals and diseases moving back and forth across the oceans between the two worlds. A great deal of the economic, social, political history of the world is involved in the exchange of living organisms between the two worlds" (Gambino, 2011). The coined phrase "Columbian Exchange" is relatively new; however, the idea of the exchange has been an ongoing process ever since 1492. The Columbian Exchange is said to have started with Christopher Columbus, just as discovering the new world is. However, the idea of exchanging goods was not his idea, although he participated in it. The Columbian Exchange is a larger idea that people often do not realize they are participating in. For example, many merchants and traders who exchange goods do not do so for fun, but rather for personal financial gain. This idea of economic gain is the underlying reason for the exchange of goods. But participating in this exchange would be considered part of the Columbian Exchange. Another example would be the exchange of diseases. Most people would not want to be sick or pass on their sickness to others. However, illness and death were often the results that were common during the interactions of people from different places. This consequence would also be an example of the Columbian Exchange, but was an unintended consequence. We can find instances of these unintended consequences throughout the Columbian Exchange. Often times items are exchanged between ecosystems, via humans, without knowledge or proper idea of possible ramifications. The amount of items exchanged was and still is enormous. One would be hard-pressed to make a list including all of these items or to try to predict future items. However, we can break this vast amount of items down into the three major categories of plants, animals and disease.
Alfred W. Crosby Interview
Alfred W. Crosby coined the term "Columbian Exchange" to refer to the exchange of goods that ensued after the connecting of the divided worlds by Columbus. In an interview with Smithsonian.com, Alfred W. Crosby was asked to define his term Columbian Exchange, "In 1491, the world was in many of its aspects and characteristics a minimum of two worlds—the New World, of the Americas, and the Old World, consisting of Eurasia and Africa. Columbus brought them together, and almost immediately and continually ever since, we have had an exchange of native plants, animals and diseases moving back and forth across the oceans between the two worlds. A great deal of the economic, social, political history of the world is involved in the exchange of living organisms between the two worlds" (Gambino, 2011). The coined phrase "Columbian Exchange" is relatively new; however, the idea of the exchange has been an ongoing process ever since 1492. The Columbian Exchange is said to have started with Christopher Columbus, just as discovering the new world is. However, the idea of exchanging goods was not his idea, although he participated in it. The Columbian Exchange is a larger idea that people often do not realize they are participating in. For example, many merchants and traders who exchange goods do not do so for fun, but rather for personal financial gain. This idea of economic gain is the underlying reason for the exchange of goods. But participating in this exchange would be considered part of the Columbian Exchange. Another example would be the exchange of diseases. Most people would not want to be sick or pass on their sickness to others. However, illness and death were often the results that were common during the interactions of people from different places. This consequence would also be an example of the Columbian Exchange, but was an unintended consequence. We can find instances of these unintended consequences throughout the Columbian Exchange. Often times items are exchanged between ecosystems, via humans, without knowledge or proper idea of possible ramifications. The amount of items exchanged was and still is enormous. One would be hard-pressed to make a list including all of these items or to try to predict future items. However, we can break this vast amount of items down into the three major categories of plants, animals and disease.
Alfred W. Crosby Interview
Plants: The Columbian Exchange
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The difference of plant life among the New World and Old World is one that stands out immensely. According to Crosby (1972), "It is not absolute-some 456 species of plants, for instance, are indigenous to both North America and Japan-but the uniqueness of American flora must be acknowledged. Cacti, for instance, are exclusively American in origin" (p. 4). The exchange of these goods between New World and Old World have had great impacts on the way people lived. We know that when the Europeans first arrived in America, they found the native plant life to be unfamiliar. According to Crosby, "Jean de Lery, who was a member of the abortive French colony at Rio de Janeiro in the 1550s, found only three plants with which he was familiar: purslane, basil, and a kind of fern. All the others were strange, leading to all sorts of difficulties." (Crosby, 1972, p.5). The Old World provided the New World with many of the hardy crops that had been grown for years in Europe and Asia. Some these crops are wheat, barley and rye. According to J. R. Mcneill, "They also brought Mediterranean plantation crops such as sugar, bananas, and citrus fruits, which all had originated in South or Southeast Asia. At first, many of these crops fared poorly; but eventually they all flourished." Many of these crops are now staples of the New World's economies. For example, sugar became a major product in the Caribbean and Brazil. Oranges a citrus fruit that was brought over to the New World is now a major product in the state of Florida. An example from the state of North Carolina is cotton, which was produced in large quantities and created great economic prosperity for the region. Crosby (1972) states, "Kentucky bluegrass, daises, and dandelions, to name only three out of hundreds, are Old World in origin gives one a hint of the magnitude of the change that began in 1492 and continues in the twentieth century." (p. 73). Today there are fields that are made up of just these items we have discussed. This indicates the magnitude of the change that occurred after Columbus set foot in the New World. These are just a few of the major crops that were exchanged from the Old World to the New World.
Far more crops were exchanged from New World to Old World. The Europeans were introduced to an abundance of new crops and shipped these back to the Old World. Some examples of these are tobacco, squash, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, and corn(maize). Many of these would play major roles in the Old World. It would be hard to imagine Italian cuisine without the tomato or France without the potatoes. However, the biggest impact that the New World crops had was not on the cuisine but rather on the quantities of production that became possible. According to Crosby, (1972), "The great advantage of the American food plants is that they make different demands of soils, weather and cultivation than Old World crops, and are different in the growing seasons in which they make these demands." (p. 176) This idea is important because the introduction of these corps to the Old World assisted in and did not compete with the already established Old World crops. More crops could be planted and larger yields could be made from the same amount of land on farms. The increase in crops impacted the amount of food per person and resulted in a population growth. According to Nunn and Qian (2010), "..We find that the introduction of potatoes to the Old World resulted in a significant increase in population and urbanization." (p. 165). The impact of these New World crops can be seen throughout the world. Many countries have a well established production of crops that originated in the New World.
Far more crops were exchanged from New World to Old World. The Europeans were introduced to an abundance of new crops and shipped these back to the Old World. Some examples of these are tobacco, squash, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, and corn(maize). Many of these would play major roles in the Old World. It would be hard to imagine Italian cuisine without the tomato or France without the potatoes. However, the biggest impact that the New World crops had was not on the cuisine but rather on the quantities of production that became possible. According to Crosby, (1972), "The great advantage of the American food plants is that they make different demands of soils, weather and cultivation than Old World crops, and are different in the growing seasons in which they make these demands." (p. 176) This idea is important because the introduction of these corps to the Old World assisted in and did not compete with the already established Old World crops. More crops could be planted and larger yields could be made from the same amount of land on farms. The increase in crops impacted the amount of food per person and resulted in a population growth. According to Nunn and Qian (2010), "..We find that the introduction of potatoes to the Old World resulted in a significant increase in population and urbanization." (p. 165). The impact of these New World crops can be seen throughout the world. Many countries have a well established production of crops that originated in the New World.
Animals: The Columbian Exchange
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The New World provided the Old World with many more new plants that had a major impact on the way of life. However, it was just the opposite when it came to the exchange of animals. Domesticated animals were almost nonexistent in the New World prior to 1492. Some of the major animals exchanged from Old World to New World were horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens. The impact that these animals had on the New World were just as important as the New World crops were on the Old World. Animals such as cattle, who had plentiful fields of grass in America to feed on, thrived in their new setting. In fact, the animals that the Old World brought bred in such large quantities and at such a fast rate, that meat became one of the cheapest foods in the American colonies. Crosby (1972) states, "...The New World may have possibly been the best-fed people in the world, a fact that has motivated more people to migrate to the New World than all the religious and ideological forces combined." (p. 108). These animals of the Old World also provided the New World with the power of domesticated animals. Animals in Europe had been used for years as farming tools and to provide humans with power. This made jobs such as plowing fields and harvesting crops more productive. With domesticated animals, farmers in the New World could yield more corps from a season. This was new to the New World farms and created an increase in supply for these farms. Horses may have been the animal that had its biggest impact on the New World. They were used in everything from farming to a tool in the use of battle. Mcneill states, "In the North American great plains, the arrival of the horse revolutionized Native American life, permitting tribes to hunt the buffalo far more effectively." Horses soon became one of the most important part of Native American way of life.
The New world had a very few animals and many of these had little to no impact on the Old World. Some examples are turkeys, llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs. Llamas and alpacas were used as domesticated animals before 1492, however, they were found in small amounts and primarily in South America.
The New world had a very few animals and many of these had little to no impact on the Old World. Some examples are turkeys, llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs. Llamas and alpacas were used as domesticated animals before 1492, however, they were found in small amounts and primarily in South America.
Disease: The Columbian Exchange
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Disease was one of the largest unintended consequences of the Columbian Exchange. The arrival of the Europeans brought this great exchange, which enriched the world with trade of plants and animals, but it also connected people of the world who had at this point never come in contact with each other. This caused problems because through that interaction people contracted illness. The exchange of disease was dominated from Old World to New World. The Old World had a long history of dealing with disease and was far more immune to disease at this stage in the world. Having domesticated animals may have been a big reason that the Old World had far more diseases. Some of the major diseases that impacted the New World are smallpox, measles, malaria, yellow fever, typhus, chicken pox and influenza. These diseases were devastating to the New World because many of them had been around for years and had grown to be strong strands of the disease. The peoples of the New World had no immunities to these diseases, and they caused major devastation when the strands were brought ashore from the European settlers. According to Mcneill(n.d.), "On some Caribbean islands, the Native American population died out completely. In all, between 1492 and 1650, perhaps 90 percent of the first Americans had died." The exchange of disease was a one sided affair and an unintended consequence of the Columbian Exchange. This exchange probably contributed to the conquering of many native tribes by Europeans. According to Crosby (1972), "The pandemic not only killed great numbers in the Indian empires, but it also affected their power structures, striking down the leaders and disrupting the processes by which they were normally replaced." (p. 54).
Now that we have defined the Columbian Exchange and discussed some of the major items exchanged, we will dive deeper into the influence of the exchange. Specifically, the influence that the Columbian Exchange had on the region that came to be known as North Carolina. North Carolina has a rich history of agricultural and economic prosperity, much of which can be attributed to the ecological and biological exchange that occurred during the Columbian Exchange.
Now that we have defined the Columbian Exchange and discussed some of the major items exchanged, we will dive deeper into the influence of the exchange. Specifically, the influence that the Columbian Exchange had on the region that came to be known as North Carolina. North Carolina has a rich history of agricultural and economic prosperity, much of which can be attributed to the ecological and biological exchange that occurred during the Columbian Exchange.