How the Columbian Exchange impacted American History

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How the Columbian Exchange impacted American History
The Columbian Exchange is the exchange of various commodities and ideas that took place between the New World and the Old World. It was initiated following the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Americas in 1942 . His arrival allowed the exchange of the animals, plants, ideas, and bacterial life between the Old World and the New World. The Columbian Exchange resulted in histrionic and long-term effects on the people and history of the world. It introduced new experiences in terms of weeds, pests, diseases, animals, and pets into the American population. The Americans had no experience with the new diseases, and the impact was devastating. Columbian Exchange also introduced new food and fibre crops to the American population, which lacked previous understanding of them. It had both negative and positive effects to the American population. This paper explores how the import of foreign foods, animals, and diseases had an impact on Native Americans and the American history. It will examine the positive and negative effects of the Columbian Exchange to the Native Americans.
Introduction of New Diseases
One of the most dramatic and devastating effects of the Columbian Exchange to the Native Americans was the introduction of new diseases. Before the Columbian Exchange, the Native Americans had little experience with domestic animals. The introduction of domestic animals into the American population resulted in new and devastating diseases including smallpox, malaria, and measles . Most of these animals originated from Asia and Africa, where domestication of animals was common. These infectious diseases had plagued the Afro-Eurasia populations for a long time, and people there had formed some resistance to them. The American population lacked such resistance, and millions of them perished between 1492 and 1650. This is considered one of the most demographic disasters of human history, as the diseases killed over 90 percent Native Americans . This devastating effect changed the history of America.
The diseases greatly decreased the American Population, which resulted in a huge ecological and economic imbalance. Forests started expanding, and the previously hunted wild animals increased in number. The decline in population also led to sudden labor shortage throughout America, and its economy was affected. The shortage of labour prompted the Americans to seek labour force from Africa through the slave trade. The slave trade also brought devastating diseases which caused more deaths to the Native Americans.
Introduction of New Crops and Animals
The Native Americans were affected by new crops and animals, which were brought by the Columbian Exchange. The new crops and animals altered America’s social and economic balance. The objective of Columbus was to develop a new field of plenty for the benefit of the American population. Various food crops, such as wheat, barley, and rye, were introduced by him and his followers . These were not the only crops that were introduced in the Americas. New Mediterranean plantation crops were transported all the way from the South and Southeast Asia into the Americas. Initially, the crops did not perform as it was expected, and most of them fared poorly. However, they slowly adapted to the conditions in the Americas, and they eventually started to flourish .
Plantation crops, including rice, cotton, and tobacco, flourished in the America. The thriving of these crops in larger plantations formed the basis of the slave trade in America . The climate of North America provided perfect conditions, which facilitated the growth of wheat. Eventually, wheat became the stable and fundamental food crop for the tens of millions of the American people. The food crops brought by Columbian Exchange thrived greatly, and the influx of slaves increased the capacity of the plantations. The increase in production saw the United States produce more food that it could consume. The surplus produce was exported to other countries, which drastically transformed the economic status of the United States .
The Columbian Exchange also brought animals, which were new to the Native Americans. The animals that were present in America before the exchange were not suitable for domestication. Before the Columbian Exchange, there were few domesticated animals, which included turkeys, dogs, and guinea pigs . The main species of animals that were domesticated in the high Andes included the llamas and alpacas. The Columbian exchange brought useful species of animals to the Americas, which included pigs, cattle, goats, horses, and sheep among others. The horses appealed most to the Native Americans, and they quickly practiced to sprint and rear them. The horses revolutionized the lives of Native Americans, particularly those in the great plains of North America. They provided them with an effective mechanism to hunt buffalos. Animals, including pigs, cattle sheep, and goats, became economically and socially important to the Native Americans. These animals resulted in the development of ranches that kept large herds for meat and hides among others uses .
The Columbian Exchange had both negative and positive effects to the Native Americans. The major negative impact was the introduction of new diseases that devastated them for a long period of time. However, the Columbian Exchange provided many benefits for the Native Americans. It introduced new crops and animals, which eventually thrived and changed their social and economic welfare. The Columbian exchange also affected the American history. For instance, it facilitated slave trade, which later changed the history of the Americans.

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