The Lasting Effects of the Columbian Exchange During the Age of Discovery

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The Lasting Effects of the Columbian Exchange During the Age of Discovery

It should no longer come as any great surprise that Columbus was not the first to discover the Americas--Carthaginians, Vikings, and even St. Brendan may have set foot on the Western Hemisphere long before Columbus crossed the Atlantic. But none of these incidental contacts made the impact that Columbus did. Columbus and company were bound to bring more than the benefits of Christianity and double entry bookkeeping to America. His voyages started the Columbian Exchange, a hemispherical swap of peoples, plants, animals and diseases that transformed not only the world he had discovered but also the one he had left.

The Old and New Worlds had been separated for millions of years before this voyage (except for periodic reconnections in the far north during the Ice Ages). This period of separation resulted in great species divergence and evolvement. There were still many similar species, such as deer and elm, but Europe had nothing like hummingbirds, rattlesnakes, and hickory and pecan trees. The differences were even greater in the southern hemispheres; the biggest mammal in Africa was the elephant, and the biggest mammal in South America was the cow-sized tapir. Both of these environmental systems struggled for a delicate sense of balance and homeostasis-- but their collision in 1492 began a whole new time of competition and struggle for dominance. The environmental impact of such a collision is enormous and should be looked at as part of our understanding of the Age of Discovery.

PLANTS

Thomas Jefferson once said that, " The greatest service which can be rendered to any country is to add a useful plant to its culture." By this standard, Col...

... middle of paper ...

...opened new windows to science and to all knowledge. The results of the Columbian Exchange come with mixed feelings, owing to the degree of death and slavery that such a clash of natures caused. But whatever the outcome of the two worlds "re-uniting," the Exchange was a major event in the process of discovery.

Suggested Readings

Crosby, Alfred W. The Columbus Voyages, the Columbian Exchange,

and Their Historians: Essays on Global and Comparitive

History. Washington, D.C.:American Historical Association,

1987.

---. The Voyages of Columbus: A Turning Point in World History.

Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social

Science Education, 1989.

Patrick, John J. "Columbus in the Curriculum: Ideas and

Resources for Teachers of History in Elementary and Secondary

Schools." International Journal of Social Education. 7.1

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