The Influence of the Columbian Exchange throughout North America Leading up to the Revolutionary War - Research Paper Example

? The Influence of the Columbian Exchange throughout North America leading up to the Revolutionary War The Influence of the Columbian Exchange throughout North America leading up to the Revolutionary War The Columbian Exchange is a phrase that describes the period during which, as a result of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage to the American continent, agricultural products, livestock, diseases and different cultural influences were exchanged between the Native American Indian population, visiting Europeans and their African servants. The Columbian Exchange hugely affected the human societies living in both hemispheres (Hall, 2003). That which was to later be perceived as the history of America initially started with a cultural and biological collision of Native Americans, Europeans and Africans. Europeans started this contact and habitually decided its terms. For Africans and Native Americans, their life in America was to be steeped in tragedy for the next three centuries. Disease The most devastating consequences of the lengthy isolation of the American continent were to be biological. Africans, Asians and Europeans had been exposed to each other’s maladies for centuries because they frequently came into contact with each other through trade practices (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). By 1500, these three ethnic groups had acquired immune systems that moderately protected them from most illnesses. Native Americans, who remained unexposed to other ethnic groups, were larger in body size and healthier than Columbus and his co-partners in 1492, when the two groups first met (McNeill, 2012). However, their long isolation from other ethnicities meant that their bodies had no immunity against the diseases that other ethnic groups quickly mastered. European and African maladies would soon begin ravaging the American Indian tribes. Smallpox quickly became the largest killer, even though influenza and measles also decimated huge populations of American Indians. The native population of Mexico, for example, was approximately 17 million, when in 1519 Cortes and his men reached the land (McNeill, 2012). A century later, there were less than a million natives remaining in Mexico, simply as a result of communicable diseases. It has been estimated that the entire Native American population was reduced by 90 percent within the first 100 years after European travelers first reached the American shores. This fact hugely contributed to the subsequent European domination of the continent. The Introduction of Food Crops One of the few advantages of the Columbian Exchange era was the exchange of knowledge of different crops between different ethnic groups. Prior to the Columbian Exchange, there had been no potatoes cultivated in Europe (Hughes, 2003). The Columbian Exchange also hugely expanded the scale of the production of some well-liked drugs as well as crops such as sugar, coffee and tobacco use to many Europeans (Crosby, 2008). In the next few centuries potatoes would grow to be a major ingredient of Russian Vodka and the staple food in Ireland (Hughes, 2003). Chocolate, a plant only previously grown in the Americas, soon became a favorite in Europe. Plants like peanuts and maize were also transported to Africa by Portuguese. These robust crops could be cultivated in arid regions that hardly sustained any other type of edible plants (Hall, 2003). There are many historians who believe that the introduction of maize in Africa resulted in an increase in population. Before Columbus reached the American shores in 1492, the Americas had many different domesticated crops such as cassava, maize (corn), squashes, potatoes and different types of beans. Other plants that were less actively cultivated included papaya, sweet potato, avocado, pineapple, tomato, guava, chili peppers, peanuts, and cacao (McNeill, 2012). In spite of maize’s success in readapting to the African climate, the potato did not do as well in Africa. The potato would have a stronger impact in developing the Eurasian populations (Bond, 2005). After 1750, Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, the Low Countries, and Russia slowly began to accept the potato, and this resulted in a population explosion (Hughes, 2003). It is thought that this rapid population growth might have functioned as the basis for the subsequent industrial revolution in Europe. The potato was also consumed by mountain populations in China, where it stimulated human settlement in China’s mountainous areas. While potatoes and maize had major consequences in different continents, lesser crops such as peanuts also proved to be of significance (McNeill, 2012). In West Africa, cassava and peanuts grew easily when first cultivated and were adopted as additional staple foods. Cassava, which is a tropical shrub that was discovered in Brazil, has starchy roots that can develop in any type of soil (Hall, 2003). In the Central and West African regions where the soils were leached, cassava grew to be an indispensable plant. At present, more than 150 million Africans depend on it as a fundamental crop. The sweet potato, which, in the 1560s, was introduced into China, grew to be China’s third most significant crop following wheat and rice (Hall, 2004). It was used as an addition to diets across the Asian peninsula. In almost every place across the world, a food that was originally discovered in America served to complement other traditional foods, or sometimes, replaced them entirely (Hall, 2003). In the late 20th century, more than a third of the world’s main food crops were from crops that were first grown in America. It is entirely possible that if these crops had not been discovered, the rapid increase in the world’s population would have been slower. Animals Livestock that was transported from Europe to the new American continent also had a considerable impact on the land (Crosby, 2008). Spain was the nation that first used horses in the Western Hemisphere and is thought to have inspired the nomadic way of life that was embraced by Native American tribes. The Columbian Exchange brought horses, goats, cattle, pigs, and sheep to the Americas. Before Columbus’ arrival in 1492, Native American tribes residing in the high Andes had tamed alpacas and llamas. All other mammals residing in this region were unsuitable for domestication. On the other hand, Eurasia had 72 big animal groups, 13 of which were appropriate for domestication (Bond, 2005). While Native Americans benefitted from many varieties of food crops, they had only guinea pigs, dogs and turkeys, in addition to llamas and alpacas for domestic animals. Of all the animals that the European invaders introduced to America, the horse was the most esteemed by the Native American groups. Native Americans had first perceived it as a terrifying war beast that carried the Spanish conquistadors (McNeill, 2012). However, they soon began to rise and ride horses by themselves. In the wide expanses of North America, the advents of the horse transformed Native American life, by allowing tribes to hunt for buffalos more efficiently. A number of Native American tribes abandoned farming to concentrate on being nomads who hunted buffalos. Cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats also proved popular in the Americas. Just 100 years after the arrival of Columbus, huge flocks of wild pigs and cattle wandered over the natural American grasslands. These wild cattle, as well as goats and sheep destroyed the Native American’s food crops. Soon, the Native tribes turned to ranching communities that fed and raised goats, cattle, and sheep. The biggest ranches were formed in the Argentinean and Venezuelan grasslands as well as in the Canadian prairies and northern Mexico. Native Americans began to use the livestock to obtain tallow, meat, hides, and as modes of transportation. In general, the Eurasian domesticated animals brought economic, biological, and social transformations to the Americas. Disease Diseases were an accidental negative consequence of the Columbian Exchange. The Europeans visitors bore germs to which they themselves were immune (Bond, 2005). The native tribesmen of the Americas had no such immunity to these new diseases such as smallpox. Entire tribes were killed by diseases that would be easily treated in the modern world. When the primary inhabitants of the American continent reached across the Bering Strait approximately between 12,000 years ago, they hardly carried any disease pathogens (McNeill, 2012). This is because they did not have any domesticated animals which usually carry pathogens that adversely affect human beings. In addition, these initial tribesmen walked to North America through Siberia. The freezing temperatures in the lands in which they lived effectively destroyed all disease causing pathogens that they may inadvertently bear. Due to this fact, these first Americans and their successive generations until 1492 were spared the ravages of infectious diseases that had decimated Afro-Eurasian populations for millennia (Hall, 2004). In Africa and Asia, people became immune to diseases that were regularly transmitted by sheep, cattle, fowl, and pigs. In areas of Peru and Mexico, many Native Americans died from these communicable diseases. On particular islands of the Caribbean, the Native populations were completely wiped out. This loss was probably one of the largest demographic catastrophes in human history. By eliminating the majority of the Native American population, the Columbian Exchange transformed the area’s economic and ecological balance (McNeill, 2012). Entire ecosystems were in turmoil as forests grew widely once more and animal populations that were previously kept in check through hunting exploded. In terms of finances, the population decline caused by the Columbian Exchange ultimately resulted in a drastic shortage of labor all through the Americas. This shortage would be one of the factors that contributed to the institution of slavery on an extensive scale (Sharp, 2007). The slave trade, by 1650, had introduced additional diseases like yellow fever and malaria that further reduced the Native American populations. Slavery The cultivation of cotton and rice, both of which were imported in the Columbian Exchange, created the foundation of America’s slave society (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). Wheat, which flourished in the moderate latitudes of South and North America as well as the Mexican highlands, grew to be an important food crop for millions of inhabitants in the Americas (McNeill, 2012). While the spread of these food crops radically altered the American continent’s economy, these new crops were responsible for European settler cultures and their slave systems (Hall, 2004). The remaining Native American tribes, on the other hand, did not consume these staples as they had a preference for their own foods. After the majority of Native American tribes had been eliminated by the conquerors and their diseases, the Europeans started to import slaves to work in the extensive ranches (Crosby, 2008). Slavery, as an institution, existed even before the commencement of the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian exchange merely further aggravated the situation by creating a greater demand for slaves that resulted in the forcible capture of more people than before. Approximately 12 million Africans were exported to the American continent as slaves (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). Starting from the early 16th century, British sugar and tobacco Caribbean planters had initiated African slavery. This was before the system of labor was instituted in the Spanish and Portuguese and Spanish Caribbean sugar colonies. By 1700, the British islands were typified by outsized plantations and the brutalized African populations working in them (McNeill, 2012). These African slaves were so ill-treated that the majority of them died before reaching the middle ages (Sharp, 2007). This meant that additional numbers of slaves had to be procured on a monthly basis. In addition, the increase of in the size of plantations as well as the constant introduction of new crops resulted in a heightened demand for slave labor (Crosby, 2008). This constant desire for slaves supply sparked the Columbian exchange and resulted in permanent lifestyle changes in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. The journey, for slaves, from the African continent to the Americas is known as the ‘Middle Passage’ (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). Captive African slaves who in many cases had been sold by their own chiefs or jealous elements within their own clans were chained and dragged to commercial ships. There they were forced into cramped compartments where they stayed until they reached America and were sold (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). In these conditions, more than a million Africans died before reaching the American shores. The Africans that survived these conditions were sold on arrival and then forced to work without pay in plantations (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). The slave traders used the money they got from their transactions to buy commodities, crops, and other valuable products which could be sold for a profit in Europe. The profits of this trade were immense, and inspired many Europeans to enter it (Sharp, 2007). Even though the initial cost of purchasing slaves was prohibitive, the slaves reproduced in their host nations and so the profits grew as the children of the slaves became additional slaves (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). By 1690, the white servants in places like Virginia were outnumbered by the black slaves that had been imported (Peabody and Grinberg, 2007). Virginia now appropriated white servants who had served their stipulated periods 50 acres of land, therefore rendering them as new landholders (Sharp, 2007). While White servants could look forward to escaping the harsh life of servant hood, and even aspire to have land, the House of Burgesses adopted legal codes that condemned every person of African heritage to a life of bondage (Sharp, 2007). The African slaves would endure this treatment for the next few centuries, when people who were uninvolved with the slave trade began to feel that slavery was wrong and began to fight for the rights of slaves in European, as well as American, plantations. Conclusion In general, the Columbian exchange brought inclines as well as declines in varied populations around the world. The American continent’s connections with the Old World prior to the Columbian Exchange had been discrete and not much publicized. The effect of the exchanges that took place after 1492 was critical because of the ensuing explosion in the worldwide trade of people as well as commodities. The Columbian Exchange affected entire civilizations and the world as a whole. Even through the use of sinister methods, it condensed the large world into a smaller place. References Bond, B. G. (2005). French colonial Louisiana and the Atlantic world. New York: LSU Press. Crosby, A. W. (2008). Columbian exchange: The encyclopedia of the earth. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/article/Columbian_exchange~_plants,_animals,_and_disease_between_the_Old_and_New_World Hall, G. M. (2004) African ethnicities and the meaning of Mina: in Trans-Atlantic dimensions of ethnicity in the African Diaspora. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Hall, M. (2003). Editorial: The native, naturalized and exotic--plants and animals in human history. Landscape Research, 28(1), 5-9. Hughes, J. D. (2003). Europe as consumer of exotic biodiversity: Greek and Roman times.’ Landscape Research, 28(1), 21-31. McNeill, B. J. (2012). The Columbian exchange - North Carolina digital history. LEARN NC. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-twoworlds/1866 Peabody, S., & Grinberg, K. (2007). Slavery, freedom, and the law in the Atlantic world: A brief history with documents. New York: MacMillan. Sharp, S. P. (2007).The slave trade and the middle passage. 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