What were the positive and negative effects of the Columbian exchange?
The Columbian Exchange refers to the transfer of plants, animals, diseases, culture, and human populations across the Atlantic from the so-called Old World to the New World and vice-versa. The term was first coined in 1972 by Alfred W. Crosby in his book The Columbian Exchange. The title refers to Christopher Columbus, the explorer who initiated the exchange.
Among the positive effects of the Columbian Exchange were the many crops brought to the Old World from the New World. Some of these eventually became staples in cuisines around the world. These included potatoes, tomatoes, maize, sweet potatoes, cassava, and cacao, which is used to make chocolate. Crops brought from Europe and other parts of the globe that thrived in the New World included sugar, coffee, bananas, grapes, and citrus fruits. Tobacco was also brought from the New World to Europe; it became a booming industry, but it would have to be considered a negative effect because of its detrimental influence on health.
It was also advantageous that Columbus and other Europeans brought domesticated animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, donkeys, and horses to the New World. Horses in particular became highly prized by Native Americans for hunting and warfare. Other animals were primarily used for food.
On the negative side, Europeans brought many disease-causing microbes to the New World. Large percentages of native populations fell to diseases such as smallpox, chickenpox, cholera, influenza, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, measles, and mumps. Traveling in the other direction, from the New World to the Old, was the deadly sexually-transmitted disease of syphilis.
One of the most evil facets of the Columbian Exchange was the Atlantic slave trade, through which Africans were taken by force from their homelands to be placed into servitude in the New World.
Videos
What were the positive and negative effects of the Columbian exchange?
The Columbian Exchange led to wholesale environmental damage in the Americas. Entire species of animal, such as the beaver, were hunted to near extinction to satisfy the growing demands of European consumers for pelts. The overhunting of beavers led in turn to the loss of beaver ponds, which provided a habitat for fish as well as a vital water source for deer, moose, and other animals. The introduction of pigs by European settlers caused further damage. Pigs ate the food normally eaten by native species, such as deer. The ensuing reduction in the deer population meant food became increasingly scarce for the Native American tribes who had traditionally hunted game to survive.
At the same time, the introduction of modern European technology such as the plow led to more efficient farming methods and, as a consequence, higher crop yields.
What were the negative effects of the Columbian Exchange?
Virtually all of the Columbian Exchange's negative effects were felt by the Indigenous population of the New World. Although the Exchange was mutually beneficial in certain respects, it's fair to say that for the Indigenous Americans, the cons vastly outweighed the pros.
For one thing, the Europeans brought with them all manner of deadly communicable diseases. Indigenous people had never encountered such diseases before and so had not developed any kind of natural defenses against them. The results were catastrophic. Large numbers of Native Americans died of measles, smallpox, influenza, and many other diseases caused by the tiny, invisible microbes that had accompanied European settlers across the Atlantic.
And it wasn't just diseases that came with the Europeans. Rats did too—and lots of them. They hitched a ride aboard European ships, and when the Europeans disembarked, so did they. They helped to spread disease as well as devastating the local flora and fauna.
Sand fleas also came with the European colonists. Sand fleas burrow their way under the skin, where they deposit their eggs. This can cause serious infection, and even death, if the infection isn't treated properly. Many people died as a result of sand flea infection, as the medical knowledge of the day was insufficiently developed.
What were the negative effects of the Columbian Exchange?
The biggest negative of the Columbian Exchange, and one so devastating that
it threatens to outweigh all of the positives, is the unilateral genocide of
the native peoples of the new world. This was done at times unintentionally and
at others systematically. The first way that this came into effect was the
diseases that the Europeans unwittingly brought with them from the old world.
The Native Americans did not have the same resistance to certain diseases such
as syphilis and smallpox. These diseases quickly ravaged through their
population, killing many.
Tribes whose lands were being invaded quickly saw no other option but to go to
war with the invading Europeans. These natives, despite their ferocity, were
completely outmatched in terms of technological prowess. The ensuing slaughter
and slavery represent an incredibly dark chapter of European colonialism.
What were the negative effects of the Columbian Exchange?
The biggest negative effect would be disease. Ninety percent of native Americans were wiped out by smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, and plague. Europeans, while not entirely immune, had some resistance. Natives, on the other hand, had never experienced these diseases and died in droves as a result as they did not know how to ease the symptoms, let alone treat the illness. Smallpox enabled Cortes to take the Aztec empire and it depopulated New England before the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. Diseases spread all over the North American continent due to the extensive trade networks between tribes that have only recently been noticed by contemporary historians. Another negative effect would be the influx of non-native animals to native biomes. Pigs especially were bad because they rooted through native cropland that was not fenced. Since it was not fenced, Europeans would not acknowledge that it was planted intentionally and would not compensate the natives for their losses. This led to conflict and eventually skirmishes between colonist and native.
Name three positive aspects of the Columbian Exchange.
When we talk about “good things about the Columbian Exchange” we have to ask from whose point of view we are looking at the issue. Things that were good for the European settlers, for instance, might have been terrible for the Native Americans. Let us look at three things that were good for one side or the other.
One good thing about the Columbian Exchange for Europeans is that it got them new kinds of foods. Perhaps the most important of these were corn, tomatoes and potatoes. By coming into contact with these foods, the Europeans were able to improve their diets.
A second thing that was good about the Exchange for the Europeans was the fact that their diseases killed off so many of the Native Americans. It is terrible to say this, but the germs the Europeans carried with them helped to clear the way for them to take the land from the Native Americans, particularly in North America.
For the Native Americans, one possible good thing about the Columbian Exchange was the fact that they were introduced to horses. This was a very good thing for many of the Plains Indians of North America. Their lives became easier once they had been introduced to horses and had learned to use them.
What negative impacts occurred during the Columbian Exchange?
From the perspective of Native Americans, a number of very bad things happened as a result of the Columbian Exchange. The worst, by far, was that Native peoples were exposed to diseases of European origin for which they had no immunity. These included smallpox, typhus, measles, and various forms of plague. The result was what some historians call a "virgin soil epidemic" that wiped out millions of people. European accounts are full of horrific descriptions of the effects of these diseases. Here is English trader John Lawson, who traveled throughout North Carolina in the early eighteenth century, describing the effects of smallpox on the Sewee Indians:
the Small-Pox has destroy’d many thousands of these Natives, who no sooner than they are attack’d with the violent Fevers, and the Burning which attends that Distemper, sling themselves over Head in the Water, in the very Extremity of the Disease...
Estimates of death tolls vary, but all agree that European diseases were devastating and destabilizing to Native populations and culture.
Another negative effect of the Columbian Exchange for Natives was the introduction of pigs and other livestock that destroyed Indian crops. The effect of these animals was compounded by European weeds that flourished in the New World, also causing problems for Native agriculturalists.
What were some positive aspects of the Columbian Exchange?
A long term benefit of the Columbian Exchange was an improvement in the diet of the people of Europe. With the introduction of potatoes and corn, people in Europe lived longer; fewer women died in child birth, and fewer children died of early childhood diseases. The end result was a marked increase in the European population. This increase led to the Agricultural Revolution, involving new methods of crop production which allowed for the production of larger crops which could be sold for lesser amounts. This in turn freed more people from agricultural work while also allowing them funds to spend on items other than food; the end result of which was the Industrial Revolution. I think it is a fair statement to say that Europe benefited from the Columbian Exchange much more than did the Americas, even though the Americas had previously not domesticated animals other than dogs.
What were the disadvantages of the Columbian Exchange?
While the Columbian Exchange did have some benefits, like the exchange of new technology, ideas, plants, and animals across the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, there was also a significant negative result that came from the Columbian Exchange. Along with the positive exchanges came the negative exchange of disease. This primarily had a negative effect on Native American populations. Smallpox, for example, proved extremely deadly to Native Americans. Europeans had been exposed to smallpox for many generations, and while it had been deadly, those who survived had passed on antibodies and immunities to future generations. Native Americans, who had not previously been exposed to these diseases, did not have immune systems capable of fighting off smallpox. The result was tremendous loss of life when they became exposed to diseases like smallpox after coming into contact with Europeans. It is estimated that up to 90% of the Native American population was killed off due to disease. Additionally, this led to the destruction of Native American civilizations as Europeans claimed and colonized their land.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.
Further Reading