The following composition states and supports the idea that the Columbian Exchange resulted in more positive effects than negative ones in food and between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas due to new varieties of crops and food animals traded by Europeans and Native Americans. The seven sources used in this composition offer objective and comprehensive information on the events of the Columbian Stock Exchange and their effects on the people who would now live on the American continents. They explore the immediate and long-term positive and negative effects of this global exchange. However, they have different points of primary interest. Alfred Crosby's work is focused more on discussing the biological effects of the Columbian Exchange than those related to diet; Malone, Gray, Ross, Ryan, and Carney tend to focus on the food and property aspects; and McNeill and Mann cover both aspects equally. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the Original EssayThe Columbian Exchange was the trade in goods and diseases between Native Americans and Europeans. It all began when Christopher Columbus, the titular explorer, made his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. The new crops and livestock introduced to each landmass thrived in their new environments and added variety to the diets of the peoples, but diseases, a negative transfer of the Trade caused mass mortality among the native population, but not among Europeans, because Native Americans had far fewer diseases to share. The vast majority of these diseases were Old World diseases for several reasons. Native Americans had traveled to the New World via the Beringia land bridge, which existed at a time of massive glaciation and whose cold eliminated the risk of most diseases. The peoples who would later become Europeans did not experience this effect to such a degree that they were in areas with higher temperatures and had larger populations likely to share diseases. The peoples who settled the Americas were isolated from Afro-Eurasia for millennia, so they never contracted the multitude of diseases that were shared among interconnected Afro-Eurasians for a great period of time of human history and which allowed various diseases to develop. Some of these diseases include smallpox, measles, chickenpox, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever, all of which were easily fatal to Native Americans. However, these natives developed immunity and increased in population due to the dietary variety provided by the Europeans and overcame this obstacle. Furthermore, although disease was a significant negative effect of material exchanges between the Old World and the New World, a greater quantity of favorable goods were exchanged. The favorable effects mentioned above concerned various domestic animals and plants, such as pigs, cattle, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips. The horse was one of the animals introduced to the native population, because now the natives could hunt large groups of animals much more effectively and efficiently or be more powerful in combat (Malone, Gray, Ross, Ryan).Between the Old World and the New World In the Columbian exchange, many species of animals, domesticated and sometimes wild, weresent. Many animals were transported between landmasses, which would impact the normal working and fighting tactics of the New World. For example, there was “the transformation of the prairies and the labor revolution,” the many cattle that pulled plows for agriculture (Malone, Gray, Ross, Ryan). Thanks to this transatlantic trade, we can see the difference between the levels of domestication of the natives and those of the whites. The “difference between animals on different sides of the Atlantic” The Atlantic was extraordinary… The natives had only a few domestic animals… he (Christopher Columbus) brought horses, dogs, pigs, cattle, chickens , sheep and goats” (Malone, Gray, Ross, Ryan). On top of all this, the biggest impact of these new animals was the new food opportunities. Pigs brought from Europe "reproduced the fastest and served as meat for the explorers" (Malone, Gray, Ross, Ryan) and apart from that, they were also found all over the new country in a short time. Livestock were also brought, as they had multiple uses for their original people. They were used for both food and their skin, which was often shipped back to the motherland. Not only did Europeans and Native Americans exchange animals, but crops were also exchanged between the two populations. The three main plants traded were sugar cane, corn and potatoes. Sugarcane could be processed into sugar, which became a commodity of this era. Like cattle, it was versatile, as it could be "used in coffee, tea, chocolate and rum" (Malone, Gray, Ryan, Ross). Corn was also very important in this exchange between the Old and New Worlds. Corn, or American corn, has been used for a variety of reasons, such as its ability to be stored/dried, its ability to be grown successfully in many regions, as well as its similarity to wheat. This crop could be grown quickly and in other places where wheat could not. The last important crop was the potato. Potatoes were useful because of their resistance to certain weather conditions and were "cheap food for sailors" (Malone, Gray, Ryan, Ross). Due to the introduction of this new plant, many European countries, such as Ireland, have become very dependent on it. Disease has been by far the most devastating effect on the Columbian Stock Exchange. Before the arrival of Europeans, America was virtually disease-free due to the cold caused by the Bering Land Bridge and the last ice age. The disease was transmitted largely by unknown European domestic animals, causing the introduction of a myriad of diseases such as smallpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough, influenza, chicken pox and typhus (McNeill) . The results of the epidemics were staggering: millions of natives died from these diseases due to their lack of immunity. This led to a shortage of labor for Europeans, and it was one of the main causes of European use of African slaves. However, the reduction in the indigenous population and the overall reduction in the existing human population in the Americas resulted in environmental restoration: animals that had previously been hunted increased in number, and forests that had been cut down and burned grew back. (McNeill). Although disease caused many problems, the new variety of crops, animals, and plants that transformed Europe and America over the centuries made up for these problems. Biological and economic effects are everythingas positive as the introduction of the disease was negative. Columbus aimed to introduce crops that could prosper. Grains such as wheat, barley, and rye were imported to the Americas. Mediterranean crops such as sugar, bananas and citrus also performed well. Crops such as rice, cotton, and tobacco helped America economically. It is thanks to this that slave labor became established in the Americas. Although slavery had a negative impact on Africa, it is undeniable that it had a positive economic impact on the Americas. Like crops, animals were just as welcome in the Americas, with the exception of disease. Animals have been introduced for many purposes. Some were primarily for food, such as pigs, cattle, sheep and goats. Besides food, it also brought about a change in the American economy. There were now livestock-based economies. Others, notably the horse, had other functions. The introduction of the horse to the Americas revolutionized the lives of the natives. It allowed both transportation and more efficient hunting of buffalo (McNeill). Afro-Eurasia also benefited. Native American indigenous cultures have had significant impacts in Eurasia and South Africa. Crops such as potatoes and corn found importance in Eurasia and South Africa. Corn became a staple crop in many regions, including North Africa, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, India, and much of Europe. Its greatest impact, however, was in South Africa. It was the crop planted on almost 75% of the possible cultivable land. The potato also had a similar, if not greater, impact. In Northern Europe, this culture flourished. The success of this culture led to population growth. This population growth laid the foundations for important developments such as the Industrial Revolution and European imperialism (McNeill). Smaller harvests also grew in importance. Almost everywhere in the world, at least one American culture was introduced and supplemented existing cultures. “By the end of the 20th century, about a third of the world's food supply came from plants first cultivated in the Americas. » (McNeill).Food in some form brought from Europe because it was very valuable to the colonists due to its rarity and because Europeans were not accustomed to New World food. A special story is that of Antonio de Rivera and his several olive plants. He believed that his colony, an irrigated valley in Peru, would produce many olive trees, so on one of his trips between Spain and this colony he brought back many olive plants from the old days. Unfortunately for him and his colony, only two or three survived the journey, so they became very valuable and closely guarded, to no avail: one was stolen and transported 500 leagues to Chile (Crosby). Despite this, both locations managed to develop a considerable olive industry in the fertile valleys of South America's Pacific coast. This is just one of the stories in which certain cultures were fully utilized. Diseases of any kind were very deadly to almost all populations located in the Americas, whether located on the coast or further inland. An example of this would be the destruction of the Spanish aborigines and their Caribbean neighbors in the 1520s (Crosby). Europeans under the reign of Christopher Columbus arrived in America and came into contact with theindigenous. New diseases were brought to the attention of the natives and the population began to decline, as these diseases had never been encountered by any of the native populations that came into contact with the arrival of Europeans. As a result, the aborigines were decimated, for as well as "their Arawak brethren of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica (Crosby) followed them into oblivion shortly after" (Crosby). The Europeans inadvertently brought their diseases and they did not realize that they had introduced them to the native population, because they were already immune to them and had paid no attention to them. Because of these deadly diseases, the natives were murdered and it was difficult for Columbus to bring back natives as slaves of the Queen of Spain. The explorations of 1492 and beyond helped reconcile the separation between the Americas and Eurasia. Crops, domestic animals, and pathogens were all transported west to the New World. Native American cultures also spread to Eurasia and Africa. Nearly all crops, plants, and animals of the Old World thrived in the New World environment. The export of Native American animals did not have the same impact as Native American cultures or Old World cultures and animals. Corn, potatoes, squash, chili peppers and cassava became a staple crop for hundreds of millions of Europeans, Africans and Asians. These cultures also allowed population growth in the Old World. Both the Old World and New World environments were similar. Plants, crops, and animals were all adapted to the environment of the New World. However, the New World was not adapted to the germs and pathogens of the Old World, which caused an initial population decline. However, over time the population recovers (Crosby). Because the population recovered, the Old World and the New World exchanged crops and animals for free. The positive effects of the exchange were therefore obtained without much disadvantage. For a long time, biodiversity was caused by the geographic separation of different life and sub-life (viruses) species (Crosby). The connection between the Old World and the New World began during the last ice age, when the Bering land bridge was raised above sea level and animals could cross it. Humans also interbred in pursuit of prey, but while there was some exchange between the two worlds, it was very minute and did not involve plants. The next exchange took place when the Vikings discovered the New World, but this exchange was also small scale and insignificant to the course of history (Crosby). However, the most significant exchange was when Christopher Columbus, an explorer seeking to bring wealth and power to his country, came across the Americas. From the Old World – Europe, Africa and Asia – and from the New World – North America and South America – he and subsequent European explorers of the New World exchanged an enormous variety of plants and animals, resulting in drastic changes in the world. the ecosystems of both environments and in the diets of the people of both landmasses (Crosby). The Columbian Exchange included more than an exchange of plants and animals. There was also an exchange of cropping systems (Carney, 2001). The introduction of certain crops to the New World during the Columbian Exchange also introduced a need for labor to work these crops. Due to the disease which decimated a large part of the indigenous population, a new, 73(1), 365-367.