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The Columbian Exchange of Plants, Animals, and Diseases

8/1/2015

24 Comments

 
PictureModern corn varieties. Selective breeding of corn was begun in Mexico long before 1492.
Roger M McCoy
    
     










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​   When European explorers first arrived in tropical America they encountered an assemblage of flora and fauna that was mostly unknown to them. They met iguanas that matched their idea of a flying serpent, but without wings. In the tropical rivers they found flesh-eating piranhas and eels that provide a nasty jolt of electricity. They had seen monkeys, but not monkeys that could swing by their tails. The awe-struck explorers saw strange birds such as the toucan with its enormous bill and the Andean condor that seemed far too big to actually fly. They found blood-drinking bats and the immense anaconda.
    In the more temperate latitudes animals were less alien than those in the tropics, but still different from those in Europe. Coronado described a cattle-like animal (the bison) as numerous as fish in the sea and having humps like camels. “They (bison) have very long beards like goats and when they are running they throw their heads back with the beard dragging the ground.”
    In 1520 Philippus Paracelcus wrote that no one could actually believe that all this great diversity of animals was of the same creation that produced Adam and Eve. His only explanation, close to heresy in his time, was that “God hath made a new creation of beasts.”
    The great differences in plants in the New World presented a particular problem for the Europeans. They were accustomed to staple grains such as wheat, barley, and oats. Not only were they not found in the Americas, these grains would not even grow well in the humid tropics. In the West Indies and the wet lowlands of the mainland the Spaniard had to import wheat or eat bread made from manioc (cassava) flour. Hence manioc became the new staple carbohydrate for the European in the tropics. The other important new food for the Europeans was maize, which grows well in the wet lowlands and in the highlands of tropical America, plus beans, pumpkins, and potatoes. Adaptation to these new foods became essential in order to send bands of soldiers to the interior to explore and capture new wealth.  
    One great concern for the Spaniards in the tropics was the lack of grapes for making wine. The importance of wine in their diet made this a serious matter. The lack of local wine-making also concerned communion wine for their mass. Priests sometimes had to resort to whatever local beverage was available. Although wine seemed mandatory because Jesus used it in the last supper, some priests rationalized that perhaps Jesus used wine because it was the only drink available in his time and place, and therefore they were merely following Jesus’s example. Clearly the Europeans in America missed their familiar foods and soon brought their favorite crops with them.
    The first big transfer of European crops to America began with Columbus’s second voyage. He returned to Hispaniola with a fleet of ships, 1,200 men, seeds and cuttings for wheat, chickpeas, onions, grape vines, sugar cane, and fruit. The Caribbean was not an ideal spot for all European horticulture. Wheat and other grains failed, as did the grapes and olives—no bread, wine, or oil. Fortunately some plants thrived, such as cabbage, European melons, citrus fruits, figs, sugar cane, and bananas from West Africa. The success of certain plants quickly led to plantations on Hispaniola producing food for local settlers and export to Europe. As early as 1530 there were thirty-four sugar mills on the island.
    Europeans in the Americas also felt the lack of familiar livestock. Except for the llama, no beast of burden existed for plowing, hauling, or traveling in the western hemisphere. The natives of the Americas also lacked most of the domesticated animals familiar to the Europeans, e.g. horses, cattle, sheep, donkeys, pigs, and goats. In South America the llama, guinea pigs, and ducks had been domesticated, but throughout the Americas wild game was the main source of meat and leather. The introduction of European livestock to the Americas was so successful that within a few years large herds of wild horses and thousands of feral pigs roamed the islands of the Caribbean. The abundance of cattle, pigs, and horses led to a very large production of animal hides and tallow for shipment back to Europe. Because most New World animals were of little interest to Europeans, very few were brought back for reasons other than display. The turkey is a notable exception. But it is surprising to learn how quickly commercial enterprises were established in the Americas on the basis of plants and animals brought from Europe.
    The story of the American Indians’ rapid adoption of the horse is well known. The horse improved the Indians’ quality of life immensely, especially in the great plains of North and South America. Using horses they could improve their supply of food by more successful hunts at greater distances and also be more successful in warfare. The horse became a source of wealth which could be traded for other valuable goods.
    Another type of exchange between continents involved disease pathogens. The most familiar, though tragic, disease transplant from Europe to the Americas was smallpox. This horrible disease hit populations of native people who had absolutely no immunity. The disease spread rapidly with the disastrous result that the populations of entire tribes were wiped out in many parts of the Americas. In the Caribbean the much- feared Carib tribe quickly disappeared primarily due to smallpox. Similar tragedies occurred across North America as well. Another disease, syphilis, is commonly believed to have transmitted from America back to Europe. Although it spread widely throughout Europe after 1492, some researchers have found evidence of a less virulent form of syphilis in Europe before Columbus. Syphilis is a horrible and fatal disease if untreated, but it never destroyed entire populations like smallpox.
    Food crops of the Americas played a large role in the survival of the European newcomers and many of those crops were taken back to Europe greatly enriching their diet with foods such as maize, many kinds of beans, peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, tomatoes, chili peppers, cocoa, and avocados. Additionally certain non-food crops became important in Europe, although they could not always be grown there. These included tobacco, certain types of cotton, and rubber, after commercial uses for it were found.
    Of all these plants corn (maize) and potatoes stand out as the most valuable contribution to Old World culture. Corn fits neatly into an environmental niche that may be too wet for wheat and too dry for rice. Corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes have the added advantage of producing almost double the calories per acre of land relative to wheat and other small grains. Few plants can match corn in production of carbohydrate, sugar, and oil in such a short growing season. Often corn could be grown with other crops, such as squash and beans, in the same field at the same time. In short, corn and potatoes may have been the best discovery made in the New World.
    The Columbian Exchange, a term coined by Alfred Crosby, was initiated in 1492, continues today, and we see it now in the spread of Old World pathogens such as Asian flu, Ebola, and others. Now the time required for exchanges to occur is greatly shortened by having the entire world within a day’s travel. Thank you, Mr. Columbus.

__________________________________________

LIST OF EXCHANGES BETWEEN HEMISPHERES
(List adapted from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_Exchange)


1) New World to Old World
 
Plants     (partial list)    
avocado, beans, pepper, cocoa, cashew, berries (black raspberry), corn, peanut, pecan, pineapple, potato, pumpkin, rubber, various squash, sunflower, sweet potato, tobacco, tomato, vanilla, zucchini.

Animals (partial list)                   Diseases
guinea pig, llama, turkey.          Chagas disease(a tropical
                                                  unicellular parasite),
syphilis                                                          
                                                   

____________________________________________

2) Old World to New World

Plants (partial list)
almond, apple, apricot, banana, barley, beet, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cantaloupe, carrot, celery, coffee, citrus fruits, oats, onion, peach, pea, pear,
rice, rye, watermelon, wheat, yam.

Animals (partial list)
domestic cat, chicken, cow, donkey, goat, goose, horse, pig,
rats (Black rat and Norway rat), sheep, guinea fowl.

Diseases
bubonic plague, chicken pox, cholera, common cold, influenza, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, whooping cough, yellow fever.

_____________________________________________

 

References        
Crosby, Alfred W. The Columbian exchange: biological and cultural consequences of 1492. Westport CT: Greenwood Publishing. 1972.

Mann, Charles C. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. New York: Vintage Books. 2005.

Mann, Charles C. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus created. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2011.

24 Comments
Sue Eichhorn
8/1/2015 07:14:40 am

Very interesting, as always.

Reply
Roger McCoy
8/2/2015 04:36:49 am

I really appreciate your interest.

Reply
Joe Biden's Lazy Uncle
9/17/2020 01:45:12 pm

Thanks for the info daddy

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10/20/2022 06:27:09 pm

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cdcfdffguy
12/4/2015 12:58:19 pm

ok

Reply
Lise Schools
8/1/2015 07:35:08 am

Good topic to forward to my professional circle.

Reply
Roger McCoy
8/2/2015 04:41:09 am

Thanks for passing it along to your colleagues.

Reply
Julia Landweber
11/19/2015 06:58:09 am

I found your website by doing a quick Google search on the Columbian Exchange to see what's out there for easy access (I am an early modern European historian but was curious about something my son's grade school history teacher wrote on one of his assignments). I saw your author photo and guessed that was a photo of Trinidad Beach or something nearby in coastal Humboldt County! Then saw your bio and presumed it is true. I am originally from Arcata and was delighted to see the photo. Also your work on the discoverer of contintental drift is great.

Reply
pencil link
4/20/2018 09:15:10 am

Very true

Reply
Roger McCoy
11/19/2015 07:55:11 am

Good sleuthing. Yes, the photo is Trinidad Beach–one of the most beautiful beaches on a coast full of beautiful beaches.
Thank you so much for your comments. I appreciate your taking the time to write. I like knowing that students such as your son might find my small blogs useful.

Reply
pencil link
4/20/2018 09:16:57 am

Your website is very good

Reply
Elena Hagen
11/4/2017 04:47:16 pm

Im in seventh grade and was given the colombian exchange menu project. totally using this as a *scource*

Reply
Roger M McCoy link
11/5/2017 07:44:32 am

Elena, It really pleases me to know that students like you are using my
posts as resources in their school work. Thanks for telling me.

Reply
Student
2/24/2018 02:51:56 pm

I appricate your effort into this

Reply
Roger McCoy
2/24/2018 04:14:58 pm

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate that.
Roger

Reply
pencil link
4/20/2018 09:10:58 am

Very good info

Reply
pencil link
4/20/2018 09:24:02 am

Im just learning bout the columbian exchange and it is very fun

Reply
Roger McCoy
4/20/2018 04:08:19 pm

Good Luck in your studies. You've seen that learning is both interesting and fun.

Reply
Student
10/31/2018 02:16:15 pm

You may want to update this info, as it has been discovered that syphilis may not have come from the Americas. A PBS series done in 2017 found that it may have actually been in the New World before Columbus's journey. It is thought that when trade along the coast of west Africa increased, it traveled up to Europe from Africa. It is believed that the disease was originally a mild skin problem during childhood that was spread through shin-to-skin contact, but mutated to be sexually transmitted so it could survive in its new environment. The port cities in Europe were full of prostitution, so the disease may have been there even before Columbus came back to Europe. You should totally check out the series!

Reply
Roger McCoy
10/31/2018 05:34:13 pm

Thanks for the info. I appreciate your helpful input.

Reply
Michael link
3/30/2022 06:56:01 am

Thanks for sharing this useful information! Hope that you will continue with the kind of stuff you are doing.

Reply
Roger
4/1/2022 02:28:41 pm

Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your interest.

Reply
Lianna Culver
10/16/2022 08:56:09 am

hoi this website is bad:(

Reply
Roger
10/17/2022 05:39:19 am

You should ask your teacher why you are assigned such a bad website to read.

Reply



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