The Age of Exploration was a period in history when explorers set out voyages to discover wealth (gold), goods (spices), and trade routes; to spread religions; to explore new lands; or simply motivated by curiosity. The most important historical development is when Christopher Columbus launched a voyage to discover a sea-route to India by sailing west, knowing that the world is a globe. Although Columbus’s methods were correct, he didn’t know there was an existing land between India and himself. After his voyage in 1492, the widespread transfer of animals (livestock), crops, culture, diseases, population, technology, and ideas are called the Columbian Exchange, the exchange between two hemispheres.
Before Christopher Columbus’s voyage in 1492, the world was basically separated in two parts; they are different in cultures, races, disease pools and ecosystems. During the Columbian Exchange, American populations were highly affected when new diseases were introduced to the inexperienced of them. Animals and livestock were introduced to the Americas, which made plowing on land possible and increased the productivity of crops. From the Americas came tobacco, tomatoes, squash, beans, maize, and corn, which led the population in Europe to increase. Crops like potatoes grow very well in temperate climate countries of Northern Europe, they are the major reason why the European population increased massively after the Columbian Exchange.
As tobacco and other popular crops brought profit to the merchants, European colonists start to settle in the Americas to produced large plantation on these crops. Colonists often pay labor money to the Native Americans to do the plantation work, but soon they realized they couldn’t make that much profit if they pay them labor money. This is when slavery became a common practice in the Americas. Europeans then began to buy or capture massive amounts of African as slaves, due to their immunity from diseases and their low escape possibilities.
Even though there are several negative sides along the positive sides, the Columbian Exchange had a dramatic and lasting effect on the entire world. The Columbian Exchange exchanged animals, potatoes and other significant crops with the Americas that wouldn’t have spread to Europe, and we wouldn’t be having any steak or fries. If it weren’t Columbus's voyage to discovering the Americas, the Columbian Exchange would not had happened.
Before Christopher Columbus’s voyage in 1492, the world was basically separated in two parts; they are different in cultures, races, disease pools and ecosystems. During the Columbian Exchange, American populations were highly affected when new diseases were introduced to the inexperienced of them. Animals and livestock were introduced to the Americas, which made plowing on land possible and increased the productivity of crops. From the Americas came tobacco, tomatoes, squash, beans, maize, and corn, which led the population in Europe to increase. Crops like potatoes grow very well in temperate climate countries of Northern Europe, they are the major reason why the European population increased massively after the Columbian Exchange.
As tobacco and other popular crops brought profit to the merchants, European colonists start to settle in the Americas to produced large plantation on these crops. Colonists often pay labor money to the Native Americans to do the plantation work, but soon they realized they couldn’t make that much profit if they pay them labor money. This is when slavery became a common practice in the Americas. Europeans then began to buy or capture massive amounts of African as slaves, due to their immunity from diseases and their low escape possibilities.
Even though there are several negative sides along the positive sides, the Columbian Exchange had a dramatic and lasting effect on the entire world. The Columbian Exchange exchanged animals, potatoes and other significant crops with the Americas that wouldn’t have spread to Europe, and we wouldn’t be having any steak or fries. If it weren’t Columbus's voyage to discovering the Americas, the Columbian Exchange would not had happened.