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