The Columbian Exchange

Introduction:

When Columbus arrived in America for the first time, a chain of events was begun that would irrevocably change the environment of the New World, as well as the lifestyles of the cultures that inhabited it. The European explorers who poured into the Americas during the years to follow brought many other creatures with them: microbes, horses, plants and many more. These organisms had as much effect as the explorers themselves in changing the New World forever. Diseases such as smallpox decimated Indian populations, and European “weeds” and livestock permanently changed the environment, often for the worse. The arrival of new technologies in America also greatly modified the Indian way of life. Tribes that acquired guns had an advantage over those that did not, and the balance of power within North American Indian tribes changed drastically in the first few centuries after the first Europeans arrived. Europeans also brought new things back across the Atlantic with them. In particular, New World crops such as potatoes had many effects on European farmers.

This exchange of crops, animals, technologies and microbes between the old and new worlds is known as the Columbian Exchange. Visit the websites below to find out more about the Columbian exchange and its effects on Europe and the Americas.

Excursion Sources: As you visit the following web sites, keep these questions in mind: What effect did the Columbian Exchange have on Europe and the Americas? In what ways were these effects in contrast with each other?

The Columbian Exchange (http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jtomask/471/colexchng.htm) - The first part of this web site focuses on the Columbian Exchange from the point of view of the Aztecs. In what way did the organisms brought by the Spaniards help them to conquer and subdue native populations? The author also discusses the New World crops that were adopted by Europeans.

Changes Brought About by Encounters Between "Old" and "New" Worlds (http://www.harper.cc.il.us/mhealy/reggeog/midamer/mmh/mmhenc/encount.htm) - Contains a list of the many items that were exchanged between both the Old and New Worlds, and their effects. Notice that things acquired by the New World had mostly adverse effects on people and the environment, while the things acquired by the Old World had mostly beneficial effects.

Spain’s Contribution to New World Agriculture (http://www.cla.sc.edu/hist/faculty/scardaville/hist420/doc8.htm) - A primary document from the sixteenth century describing the many crops taken to the New World and grown there by the Spanish.

Print Sources:

Crosby, Alfred W. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. (Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1973). – Crosby, a social historian, created the term “Columbian Exchange”. His book discusses the many changes in the Americas after Columbus’ arrival.

Davidson, James West and Lytle, Mark Hamilton. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection Volume 1. (Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2000). – Chapter 5 discusses the non-human “pioneers” in America and their effect on people and the environment.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999). - Among other things, this book explains the reasons the Columbian Exchange had such an effect on native cultures in the Americas.

Additional Internet Sources:

The Columbian Exchange 1 (http://www.history.pdx.edu/hst201dj/colexch1.htm) – Contains a map outlining the basic items that were exchanged, as well as where they came from.

The Columbian Exchange 11 (http://www.history.pdx.edu/hst201dj/colexch2.htm) – An easy to understand chart of specific exchanges and the effect as a whole on the ecology of the Americas.

Lauren Lessor, HIST 1301.091, November 2001