07, 26, 2015
Positive and Negative Long-Term Effects of the Columbian Exchange
Planet earth is the only planet on Solar System where human beings can survive, where diseases, deaths, killings, greediness and love are found. There have been great events occurred on earth which changes the society of mankind. Columbian exchange in 15th century is one of the greatest events occurred on earth. There were some positive and negative results which effect long-term to human society such as spreading diseases to the Indians and Europeans, creating the slave trade in America and introducing pests to the New World which caused to the people, plants, and the animals of the New World and Old World.
The worst negative effect of the Columbian exchange was the disease which brought to the people of New World such as smallpox, measles, chicken pox, malaria, influenza, cholera and many others. Syphilis disease also passed to the Europeans. Between 1492 and 1650, 80% to 90% of the Indians died because of the disease but there is no exact record of the numbers of people died of syphilis but most of the people who infected were. Whatever was happening couldn’t stop the advance in the New World. Also the Native Americans could do nothing to protect themselves from the deadly disease in the same way they couldn’t stop the invasion from Europeans. Most of the Native Americans had lost their lives by the disease and the Europeans began to bring large amount of slaves in the New World they conquered. The Columbians exchange led to it spreading even farther created higher demand for slaves and caused many more enslaved people than before. Slaves were treated like animals and they had suffered from starvation, and unhealthiness. Around 12 million slaves were sent to America and the population grew years by years and caused millions of people lived and died in slavery for centuries.
Not only the Columbian exchange brought disease, death, and slavery but also many persisting pests most of these are animals and plants brought on purpose or accidentally. Kudzu vine, wild oats, tumble weeds are some of the plants which caused the negative effect on the Columbian exchange. Kudzu weed has overwhelmed lots of forests and jungles in America. Brown rat, earthworm, and zebra mussels were also transported here as bed bugs, cockroaches, house fly and many other pests reached to America through the Columbian exchange consequently. All of these new introducing have had lasting effects on agriculture and the economy of America, the New World, as well as a disturbing to everyday life.
The transfer of foods had important effect for the world history. The significance of the transferring crops across the Atlantic Ocean between New World and Old World was to cause the explosion of the population which played the main role in the Industrial Revolution which came later on Columbian exchange. Columbian exchange expanded the global supply of agricultural goods by introducing of species like potatoes, maize, cassava which are good for nutritional improvements and rich calories crops such as tomatoes, cacao, and chili peppers. The New World foods had an important effect on the evolution of the local cuisines. Chili peppers gave rise to spicy curries, paprika, and kimchee in India, Hungary and Korea. Italy and countries in Mediterranean were significantly altered the cuisine by tomatoes. Also the discovery of the America made the Old World with vast quantities of good land for the cultivation of crops which were in high demand in Old World. Globally, Americas quickly became the main suppliers of crops by planting a lot of coffee, sugar, soybeans, oranges, and bananas which were introduced to the New World.
The Columbian exchange brought a fabulous influx of new people, ideology, plants, and animals which bring negative and positive effects. All of them had great ramifications and still continue to influence to the mankind’s daily life. The truth is there is no right and wrong in the history as no event can truly decide a complete positive or negative but the Columbian exchange made negative effect on America by invasion of land, infection of disease to death and slavery but on the other side it brought the major population of the world improve and gain more in the economy, knowledge, and power.
Citing Sources:
Johann, Grolle. "The 'Columbian Exchange': How Discovering the Americas Transformed the World." SPIEGEL ONLINE International. SPIEGELnet GmbH, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 July 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Fworld%2Fa-923220.html>.
America Before Columbus. Dir. Christina Trebbi. Perf. Victor Garber.America Before Columbus. National Geographic, 20 May 2012. Web. 17 July 2015.
W. Crosby, Alfred. "The Columbian Exchange." THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE of AMERICAN HISTORY. Http://www.gilderlehrman.org, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 26 July 2015. <http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-indians/essays/columbian-exchange>.
R. McNeill, J. "5.1 The Columbian Exchange." LEARN N C. LEARN NC, 2008. Web. 26 July 2015. <http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-twoworlds/1866>.
Ehresman, Brian. "American History : Columbian Exchange." American History. Http://brianehresman.blogspot.com, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 26 July 2015. <http://brianehresman.blogspot.com/2013/02/columbian-exchange.html>.
Bauer, Will. "The Effects Of The Columbian Exchange by Will Bauer - Storehouse." Storehouse. Https://www.storehouse.co, 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 July 2015.
Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. "The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas." Scholars at Harvard. Www.scholar.harvard.edu, 2010. Web. 26 July 2015. <http://www.scholar.harvard.edu/files/nunn/files/nunn_qian_jep_2010.pdf>.
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