Colombian Exchange

Colombian Exchange." This is the exchange of the crops, animals and resources that went between the New and Old World.

From the Americas came peppers, maize, potatoes, tomatoes, snap beans, lima, beans, and squash. Maize and potatoes became staple crops throughout Europe. So much so that the Irish potato crop failed, the result was famine. Then there was all the gold that provided money. This was important as it lead to investment and development.

From Europe, to the Americas came wheat, rye, barley, oats and millet. The first two crops are used in bread, a mainstay today.

The horse was a European import. When adopted by the Native Americans, the result was the Great Plains cultures.

The Americans produced vast amounts of gold and silver. However the material was obtained, the amount imported to Europe made economies based on money possible. This allowed more trade.

Having somewhere to go and new opportunities invigorated Europe. People could now seek their fortune or get a fresh start. Having a destination also increased technological development of deep ocean ships.

There is a dark side to the exchange. When Europeans first came to the Americas they inadvertently introduced a number of diseases. These included forms of Tuberculosis, measles, cholera, typhus, and smallpox. Oh all the exchanges between the Native Americans and the Europeans, disease had the most impact.

Native Americans had little immunity to any of these imported diseases. The migration route into the Americas had been through arctic regions. The cold acted as a "filter" preventing some diseases from entering. During their thousands of years of isolation, the inhabitants of the Americas had avoided the disease that swept through the rest of the world. However, this also meant that they had no