4.3 Notes ENV Columbian Exchange

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the biological, demographic, and environmental impacts of the Columbian Exchange.

Columbian Exchange

A process named after Christopher Columbus that linked the eastern and western hemispheres.

Smallpox

A disease brought over by Conquistadors that devastated Native American populations by $50\%$ or more.

Inca and Mexica

Indigenous civilizations that Europeans were able to conquer following the devastation of their populations by Afro-Eurasian diseases.

Afro-Eurasia to Americas Animals

The horse, Pig, cattle, and chicken.

Americas to Afro-Eurasia Animals

The Turkey and llama.

Afro-Eurasia to Americas Cash Crops

Sugar, cotton, and tobacco.

Afro-Eurasia to Americas African Crops

Okra and rice, which were brought over by Africans.

Americas to Afro-Eurasia Crops

Corn and potatoes, which led to a worldwide spike in population.

African diaspora

The displacement of millions of Africans as part of the transatlantic slave trade after a failed attempt to enslave indigenous Native American people.

Creole

An example of a syncretic language created during the Columbian Exchange.

European Land Use

The more intensive use of agricultural land by Europeans compared to American Indians, leading to deforestation and soil depletion.