dyes, artifacts)  in human history up to the present.  And although Europeans brought many useful items to the New World, they also brought smallpox, measles, influenza and other diseases to a population that had no antibodies to resist such diseases.  Historians and anthropologists estimate, for example, that this unintended consequence of the Columbian Exchange probably resulted in the death of between 70%-90% of the indigenous people in the Americas.

In addition, as European opportunists flooded into the Americas, some of whom started working the land and needed cheap (read, "free") labor, the slave economy became a central aspect of life for the remaining indigenous people in the Americas.

Just as the Columbian Exchange is seen as one of the most important events in history, then, it is also seen as the event that reduced Native American populations in the Americas almost to insignificance.

The “Columbian exchange” is a term popularized by Alfred Crosby in his 1973 book of the same name. Crosby formalized a concept that had been observed for several centuries, the two-way travel of plants, animals, and people between the Old World and the New World, primarily from the 1490s on, following Columbus’ arrival in the Caribbean. The exchange occurred because people in both hemispheres found new resources valuable.

In its simplest iteration, scholars understand that because of particular geographic, social, and cultural conditions, a wider variety of plants useful to human beings developed in the New World, while more useful animals had been domesticated in the Old World. Some species existed in both hemispheres, often distinct varieties but closely related, such as sugar and cotton, but particular selections adapted well to new conditions. People and animals also carried diseases and their sources; those unique to old area devastated people who had no resistance. Particularly lethal in this regard was smallpox, which was taken from the Old World. The origins of syphilis are still debated; it may have been a new disease generated from combinations of others existing in both areas.

The New World food crops that Europeans took to Europe included maize (often called corn), potatoes, tomatoes, and chocolate, as well as non-food crops, especially tobacco. Along with the legendary spices, dyestuff were valued, especially cochineal, grown on cactus, for red. While large domesticated animals were found throughout western South America, camelids were food and fiber sources and pack animals, but cannot support adult riders or be used as draft animals; tapirs and pigs were food sources only. No mammals suitable for surplus milk production were found.

The Old World animals that were especially significant were horses, suitable for riding and draft; cows and oxen, for draft, meat, and dairy; and sheep, for meat and wool. Silk fiber was transported primarily from Asia; efforts to grow mulberry and raise silk worms in the Americas were largely unsuccessful. Among the valuable plants taken to the Western Hemisphere were wheat and the related grains barley and rye; rice; and olives. Grapes well suited for wine were also important as the indigenous American varieties had very small fruit.

The short answer to this is that the Columbian Exchange happened because Columbus “discovered” the New World. 

“The Columbian Exchange” is the term that we use to refer to biological and cultural exchanges that happened between the New World and the Old World.  These two land masses had been separated for thousands of years by the time that Columbus sailed in 1492.  This meant that things were very different in the two worlds.  There were different plants and animals in the two worlds.  The people of the Old World had infectious diseases that were not present in the New World.  When the Europeans reached the New World, this changed.  They brought animals like horses, pigs, sheep and cows.  They found plants like tobacco, tomatoes, and potatoes and brought them to Europe.  Sadly for the native population of the Americas, the Europeans brought infectious diseases that killed (by some estimates) as many as 90% of the natives.  All of this happened because Europeans came to the New World, allowing the flora, fauna, and cultures of the two worlds to mix in the Columbian Exchange.

The Columbian Exchange changed the world dramatically.  The vegetables from the New World were exported to the Old World, bringing new sources of vitamins to the European diet.  This in turn increased lifespans and birth rates, leading to population increases which fueled European unrest as people and nations competed for scarce resources.  This in turn led to more European immigration to the Americas, especially from places such as Britain.  Many crops which are associated with European cuisine, such as tomatoes and potatoes, originated in the New World.  New World tobacco became an international sensation.  

Diseases from the Old World such as smallpox and malaria killed over ninety percent of Native Americans.  A smallpox outbreak allowed a small force of conquistadors with some allied help to take over the mighty Aztec nation.  Livestock from the Old World often escaped and reproduced in the New World due to a lack of natural predators.  Wild hogs descended from those brought to the New World from Spain are still major problems in Texas and Florida. They are dangerous and destroy native habitat.  These wandering livestock were also infuriating to native tribes, who had their crops trampled and eaten.  

First, please note that this exchange is the Columbian Exchange and not the Colombian Exchange.  It is named after Christopher Columbus and not after the country of Colombia. This is one of the very few instances in which “Columbian” is the proper spelling.

The Columbian Exchanged affected some people’s lives tremendously and others’ lives in relatively less significant ways.   The people who were most strongly affected were the natives of the Americas and those of Africa.  The American natives were affected tremendously, mostly in negative ways.  It is possible to say that they were helped by the Columbian Exchange because the exchange brought new species of animals (most importantly horses) to the New World. This arguably improved the lifestyles of many native groups, most notably the Plains Indians. However, the natives of the Americas were devastated by the germs that came to the New World as part of the exchange.  Infectious diseases like smallpox are believed to have killed up to 90% of the native population since that population had no resistance to those diseases.

The Columbian Exchange also harmed natives of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly those from the west coast of that continent. This is true because the slave trade is generally seen as part of the Columbian Exchange.  The slave trade took millions of Africans and changed their lives by bringing them to the New World where they were enslaved.  It changed their lives by taking their freedom and by removing them from their homelands.

The Columbian Exchange had mostly positive, though less important, impacts on Europe.  Europeans’ lives were generally enriched by the exchange. Europeans got new foods like tomatoes and potatoes.  They got corn and tobacco and chocolate.  All of these new foods diversified their diets and made them more interesting. Other Europeans enriched themselves monetarily.  Many Europeans came to the New World and made their fortunes.  In these ways, Europeans were generally helped by the Columbian Exchange.

The Columbian Exchange affected many lives on both sides of the ocean.  First, there was the exchange of goods.  Europeans brought materials and products from their homes and shared (purposefully and accidentally) them with the natives they met in the Americas.  This did two things.  First, it introduced native Americans to many technologically-advanced items (comparatively) which changed their societies and cultures.  In addition, the native Americans gave the Europeans many things that allowed them to survive in the new land.  Often, the mixture of the two cultures in regards to products and materials produced interesting and valuable items that served a purpose in both the Old World and the New World.  Next, the Columbian Exchange was a foundation for the exchange of diseases.  The diseases that the Europeans brought to the New World were devastating to the native populations.  Finally, there was the exchange of people.  The movement of people across the Atlantic Ocean created a great meshing of cultures.  This interaction between different cultures created new cultures and enhanced old ones.  It created conflict as new cultural identities had to be dealt with.  In conclusion, the Columbian Exchange was very influential in the progress and development of both the New and Old World.