The Columbian Exchange Essay

“In fourteen ninety-two, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He had three ships and left from Spain” (Columbus Poem). On the cargo of those ships were domestic flora, fauna, diseases, ideas, technology, and people that were distributed throughout the new world and the old world during the first landing of Columbus. This widespread of transfer of ideas and goods is known as the Columbian exchange, a long term benefit of the Atlantic network where European reaped all the benefits (lecture).

The idea of European reaping all the benefits is known as the ecological imperialism of the Columbian exchange as well as Europe’s final move in this metaphorical chess tournament that helped Europe emerge as the new “queen” of global trade. In this

The African elites who facilitated the trafficking of human cargo flourished from the goods they received from Europe such as rum (705). But the increase demand for African slaves for the Caribbean and Brazil caused for the system of how slaves were captured to become blurry. No longer were war enemies the only source of slavery, but also free people, even children (Equiano). This high transport of Africans men hurt the economy and many leaders such as those in Asante stop trading because they had no more laborers (707). One of the only benefit of the exchange was that the crops from the new world (corn/potatoes) helped Africa’s population counter their loss in

Their religion of human sacrificing and sun gods were pagent in the eyes of Europeans and they were forced to convert to Spain and Portugal religion, Roman Christianity. From the diaspora in the Caribbean and Brazil the africans were able to retain some elements of its culture because most of the slaves came from the same general area, Congo (lecture).

For both group of people syncretism became the alternative to assimilating to the dominant culture religion. New religion such as Candomble and the diverse portrayal of Mary (lady Guadalupe) sprung up and caused problems (lecture). The ethnic mixing occurring with the african dispora, the natives, and the europeans also caused race issues and political instability in the Americas which are still being settled