Discovery of the New World - Assignment Example

The success of the discovery of American and the New World was an interplay of positive and negative factors that created the outcomes that are witnessed today. This paper discusses the discovery of the New World by demonstrating the major Old and New World exchanges, identifying which groups were affected during the discovery and how they were affected as well as summarizing the impact of the discovery on the life of an average American during the colonial period.  The Old and New World exchanges mainly occurred through the transfer of culture, agricultural products, and diseases between the two lands.

This exchange would fall under the broad category of the Columbian Exchange. The culture was exchanged in that people from each land borrowed cultural elements and integrated them into their own. For instance, Indians acquired items such as glass beads, copper kettles, and metal utensils from European settlers. They then used these items to make their traditional items such as necklaces. They also adopted some European items that they considered more convenient than their traditional ones such as European flint and steel that was used to make fire.

European settlers also borrowed some elements of the Indians such as Tobacco use. The Indians used tobacco for medicinal purposes. The European adopted the habit of smoking tobacco and grew it on large scale such that it was exported to their home countries (The impact of colonization, n.d). Agricultural products which included plants and animals were another crucial exchange between the New and Old World. The new lands acquired new crops such as maize and potatoes among others that became part and parcel of their meals.

The Old World, on the other hand, contributed to the New Word through crops such as white and rice as well as animals such as horses, cows, chicken, and pigs (The impact of colonization, n.d). The disease was another element that was involved in the Columbian Exchange. Unfortunately, the diseases were introduced to the New World from the Old one and they had adverse effects. The native tribes lacked immunity towards the diseases that were introduced such as influenza, malaria, chickenpox, and measles.

As a result, most of them died due to these infections. A typical example is a smallpox that killed more than half of the Cherokee population in 1738 (The impact of colonization, n.d). The discovery of the New World had significant effects on Indians, Africans, and Europeans. The Indians were greatly affected since the discovery of the New World meant encroachment of their land by the Europeans. They were affected in two major ways. First, they lost their culture in that they had to abandon their culture.

Prior to the coming of the European settlers, they had their own traditional religion. However, Europeans often forced them to convert to Christianity. For instance, one of the main goals of Spanish settlers was to convert the Natives to Catholicism. Second, the confrontations between the Indians and the European settlers led to the use of biological mechanisms that killed a huge number of Indians. Europeans introduced diseases such as Smallpox and Measles that killed many Indians hence reducing their and chances of resisting invasion.

Another group that was affected was Africans. The new settlers lacked enough workforce to provide labor. This inadequacy led to the introduction of slavery whereby slaves were sourced from Africa. The introduction of slavery had two major impacts on Africans. First, the individuals who were captured and sold lost their freedom and lost contact with third families as well as homelands. Second, the Enslaved Africans were subjected to inhumane conditions on their way to the New World such that most of them lost their lives.

This exploitation continued in the hands of their masters who mistreated them. The last group that was affected by the discovery of the New World is Europeans. First, they lost some of their cultures since they were staying away from their homelands. Second, they faced numerous hardships adjusting to the new environment due to difficulties such as lack of food, diseases, and hostility from native tribes.  The life of an average American was a difficult one during the colonial. Prior to the enslavement of Africans, the indentured servants served as the source of labor.

These servants were usually underprivileged settlers from European countries who came to the New World in search of a better life. They usually worked under the command of their master who compensated them with rewards such as transportation, shelter, clothing, and food. Due to the high demand for labor in the New World, they had to work for long hours for low wages. They also had to face abuse especially women who were prone to sexual abuse from their master and male colleagues. In addition, they lacked essential basic needs such as food and shelter (Wolfe, n.d).