THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
Celeste Jones, Jasmine Morgan, Gage Ross, Nathan
Rogers
The Columbian Exchange refers to a period of
cultural and biological exchanges between the New
and Old Worlds. Exchanges of plants, animals,
diseases and technology transformed European and
Native American ways of life.
The Columbian Exchange influenced technological advances in the
late 15th and early 16th centuries. Europe was an economic and
technological power compared to the Native Americans they
encountered in the New World. Yet, they still benefited from the
exchange of ideas and cultures. Native Americans were impacted
profoundly by the technological transition. When Europeans crossed
the Atlantic and colonized the New World they sparked a flow of
changes in Native American culture.
The most notable of these changes were:
A Written Alphabet
New Farming Capabilities
New Firearm and Weapon Capabilities
A WRITTEN ALPHABET
The written alphabet is notable because of how it was used by the Europeans.
Since Native Americans had no formal written language, Europeans knew that
establishing relations by way of treaties would be difficult. Europeans educated
Natives by teaching them to read and write a European language, this would
help break down barriers, thus integrating cultures. At first the natives were
skeptical about the written language, because Natives never followed a written
agreement, blood oaths were their highest form of agreement. Europeans did
not just try and teach them language for the purpose of trade. Europeans used
their alphabet to "educate" Natives as well, by trying to convert them to
Christianity. They believed that unless natives accepted Jesus they would be
damned, also a common religious belief among them, would bond them greater
then any written code. Europeans held Christianity to the highest standard in
social importance, and considered conversion an evolution. To the left is a key of
An early 17th late 16th century Dutch alphabet. Below is a syllabary of an
original Cherokee language. This written syllabary is a key step in the
technological movement and the intellectual growth of the Native Americans by
way of the Columbus Exchange.
NEW FARMING CAPABILITIES
New Farming equipment like the plow seen to the left ignited the New World economy
and improved health on a long term basis. The plow was highly important because it
cultivated large areas of land creating a surplus of plants for both Natives and
Europeans. Animals such as horses and oxen would pull the plows across the land, this
helped to cultivate more land. The vast farming land and rich soil were transformed into
crop fields, which then lead to the establishment of towns. Because crops could be grown
and the land could be cultivated, towns began to be established near farms. Natives
created villages giving evidence of them moving away from the hunter-gatherer society.
Europeans experienced greater crop output in the New World because of the rich soil
that they did not have in Europe. The plow as seen to the left, was regarded as the main
factor in the surge of agricultural output in Colonial America. This specific plow was
taken from a Pennsylvania museum, we know that it was built in Europe because of the
use of metal and its structure. This specific plow was used to cultivate lands by being
pulled by horses and other large animals.
NEW FIREARM AND WEAPON CAPABIL IT IES
Guns and knives facilitated hunting and fishing for the Native Americans. While
Natives already had knives, what they used were very malleable because they
were made of obsidian and could not be used over and over like the European
knives made of steel and iron. Before guns, spears, hatchets and bows and
arrows were the most common used weapons of the Native Americans. A bow
and arrow allowed for hunting from greater distances, but they did not do the
same amount of damage as a gun. Some animals required more than one arrow
to be killed. When Natives witnessed the destructiveness of guns they realized
that they could use them for hunting larger animals. Natives now because of the
migration of Europeans also had horses to ride. Natives could now chase down
large herds of animals quicker and with the guns, they could kill them quicker.
ANIMALS
The passage from the Old Word to the New World in the Columbian Exchange
was made by animals as well as humans. Both the non-domesticated and the
domesticated animals made an impact on the New World. For example some of
these impacts were the transformation of the grasslands and revolutionizing of
labor. Overgrazing by enormous herds of sheep was the reasons for the
transformation of the grasslands and the availability of horse and ox were
responsible for the new power force for the land. The cattle were another very
important animal to the New World. They were brought to Mexico in 1521.
They also were brought by Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. They were
both domestic and wild. Many of the arriving colonists were already cattleman
so they adapted well. The cattle were killed for their hides and also their meat.
Their hides were shipped back to Europe and sold. Cattle were one of the
biggest assets of the new world because of the exports and the meat. Their
meat supplied the explorers with the nourishment they needed. One of their
downfalls was they destroyed the native’s crops because of trampling and
grazing.
PLANTS
Sugarcane:
Sugarcane is an essential form of sucrose and is used in the diet of almost every culture. It is also a
very significant crop historically. the domestication of sugarcane dates back to 10,000 years ago when it
originated in New Guinea.
Maize:
Maize (American Corn) is possibly the most important of all the New World crops involved in the
Columbian Exchange. It was always important to the Amerindian diet because it could be stored (dried)
almost indefinitely.
Potatoes:
The potato is an amazing example of a New World crop which became essential to European diet.
Potatoes came from the Andes of South America and were important because they could resist cold and
grow in thin soil. Used as cheap food for sailors, once the potato reached Europe, it's value became
obvious.
DISEASEThe Columbian Exchange is often times praised for the positive things that it brought about such as the exchange of new animals,
foods, and plants between the Old World and the New World. However, not all of the aspects of the Columbian Exchange were
positive. It is also important to realize that the Columbian Exchange can also be credited for the transmission of diseases which had
adverse effects on both the Old and New World alike. Diseases were transferred from Europeans to Native Americans as well as vice
versa.
Common Old World Diseases included:
Smallpox
Measles
Malaria
Yellow fever
Influenza
Chicken Pox
Common New World Diseases include
Syphilis
Polio
Hepatitis
Encephalitis
With the large numbers of disease brought by the Europeans to the New World, the Indian population was immensely impacted by
these illnesses.
The Indian population was devastated by the illnesses brought by the European