The Columbian Exchange refers to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Old World of Europe and Africa and the New World of the Americas. The exchange began after Christopher Columbuss voyages to the Americas in 1492 and was part of a larger process of biological globalization that followed the transoceanic voyaging of the 15th and 16th centuries. The exchange had profound consequences that shaped world history in the ensuing centuries, most obviously in the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
Key aspects of the Columbian Exchange include:
-
Diseases: The transfer of Old World diseases to the Americas was the most devastating component of the Columbian Exchange. Among the lethal germs were smallpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox, typhus, and influenza. Native populations were decimated by disease outbreaks which allowed the Spanish, and later Europeans, to conquer the indigenous populations more easily.
-
Plants and Animals: The exchange of plants and animals transformed farming and human diets. From the 16th century onward, farmers enjoyed a wider variety of plants and animals to choose from to earn a living and expand their prospects for wealth.
-
Economic, Religious, and Cultural Transformations: The exchange had other aspects, including economic, religious, and cultural transformations. The tremendous amounts of silver which flowed from the mines in South America back to Spain altered the European economy. The new wealth led to better lives for many Europeans and an increased population.
The phrase "the Columbian Exchange" is taken from the title of Alfred W. Crosbys 1972 book, which divided the exchange into three categories: diseases, plants and animals, and cultural exchange. The effects of the Columbian Exchange were not isolated to the parts of the world most directly participating in the exchange: Europe and the Americas. It also had large, although less direct, impacts on Africa and Asia.
In conclusion, the Columbian Exchange was a significant event in world history that involved the transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World. The exchange had profound consequences that shaped world history in the ensuing centuries, most obviously in the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
