Columbian Exchange
Columbian Exchange: the exchange of diseases, ideas, food crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following Christopher Columbus’ voyage (1492)
Old World: the entire Eastern Hemisphere
Gained:
Discoveries of new supplies of metals
New staple crops
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Maize
Cassava
Less calorie-intensive foods
Tomatoes
Chili peppers
Pineapples
Cacao
Peanuts
Other stuff
Tobacco
Sugar
Coffee
Losses:
Enabled the transmission of diseases
They gained syphilis
They gave:
Smallpox
Cholera
Measles
Typhus
Effects on Africa and Asia
European exploration / colonization aided by the New World discovery of quinine
Quinine: the first effective treatment for malaria
Cultivation of crops in the Americas and devastation of Native populations from disease = demand for labor
Demand met with abduction of 12 million Africans (16th - 19th cent)
Disease from the Old World to the New World
Major killers: smallpox, measles, whooping cough, chicken pox, bubonic plague, typhus, malaria
Native populations were immunologically defenseless
80-95% of the Native American population was decimated within the first 100-150 years following 1492
Syphilis
Spread from the New World to the Old World
Syphilis was fatal, and its symptoms were more severe
Symptoms: genital ulcers, rashes, large tumors, severe pain, dementia, eventual death
Became less fatal over the years - by the 17th century it was what it is today
Two theories:
Columbian Hypothesis: the disease causing agent originated in the New World and was spread in 1493 by Christopher Columbus and his crew, who acquired it from the Natives of Hispaniola through sexual contact. After coming back, men joined the military campaign of France and exposed local prostitutes to the disease. They spread it further when they returned home.
Evidence: bacterium causing syphilis arose recently in humans and is closely related to a variation of a disease found in South America
Pre-Columbian Hypothesis: the disease always existed in the Old World, but it hadn’t been differentiated from other diseases with similar symptoms.
The debates over the true origins of venereal syphilis have been a direct consequence of the difficulty in distinguishing syphilis from other diseases and left similar bone scars.
The Transfer of New World foods to the Old World
IMPACT: population explosion, Industrial Revolution
The Columbian Exchange expanded the global supply of agriculture
Introduced previously unknown species to the Old World that resulted in caloric and nutritional improvements, complimented existing foods, or evolved local cuisine,
Caloric improvement | Complemented | Evolved cuisine |
---|
The discovery of the Americas gave the Old World land to grow crops that were in high demand.
Sugar, coffee, soybeans, oranges, bananas
New World foods today are an important part of our diets.
Staple crops: potatoes, maize, cassava
Primary benefit of the New World staples: they could be grown in Old World climates that were unsuitable for the cultivation of Old World staples
The potato had the biggest impact
Provides an abundant supply of calories and nutrients
Able to sustain life when consumed as the only food when supplemented with milk or butter
Spurred population growth
Increased urbanization
Caprisicum pepper
Ancestor to most peppers consumed today
Impact on cuisine - paprika, chili peppers, spicy kimchi
Health advantages
Nutritious: vitamin a, b, c, magnesium, iron
Aids digestion
Treats pain, respiratory disorders, shingles, toothache, and arthritis
Tomatoes
Originated in South America
Brought to Asia by Spaniards in 1564
Weren’t cultivated in China until the 20th century
English travelers reported Spanish tomatoes in North Africa 1671
Don’t preserve well, so canning process increased shelf life
Before 1890, canning was costly and manual
Mechanization of canning at the turn of the 20th century lowered the cast and increased tomato consumption
Tomatoes are consumed most by Old World countries
Health benefits
Vitamins a and c
Lycopene may help reduce cancer
Cacao
Columbus first brought back cacao pods after his 2nd voyage to the New World
First cultivated in 1590 by the Spanish off the coast of Africa
First used in expensive chocolate drinks
Spain → italy → france
Chocolate drinks quickly changed from being novelty drinks to a regular drink for the middle class
Spanish held a monopoly on production and trade until the 17th century
French and Dutch also produced
Cultivation came late to Africa but now African countries are among the world’s largest producer of cacao
Has lifting psychological effects
Has high energy output - important for expeditions where they could only carry a little food
Plain Vanilla
Comes from forests in s mexico, c america, and northern s america
Became popular quickly in spain
Luxury for the wealthy
French couldn’t cultivate it until after 1836
Tobacco
Native Americans began to use tobacco 1 bc
Used as a hallucinogen during religious ceremonies, painkiller
Quickly adopted by Europeans
First used as a medicine
In England, chiefly used by sailors
Used as currency
Virginia made it legal 1642
Maryland used almost only tobacco currency
During American Rev War, the gov used tobacco as collateral for part of its loans from France
Buddhist monks used tobacco seeds as payment
Use increased around ww1
Negative health effects discovered in 1950s
Anti-smoking campaigns developed over next four decades
Coca
Leaves grown from bushes in the Andes
Incans chewed them during religious rituals
Spanish settlers brought the practice back to Europe
Coca Cola initially contained marinated coca leaves, substitute for alcohol when it was illegal
Cocaine is highly traded but illegal
Improved cultivation of Old World foods in the New World
Old World crops today have 26%+ of their total production in the New World
Old World crops flourished in the New World, and New World crops flourished in the Old World.
New/Old World = east/west, so plants could find a climate similar to their native
Transplanted crops flourished bc they didn’t have the pests and parasites that had co-evolved with them
Forced and voluntary migrations to the Americas
16th-19th centuries
trans-Atlantic slave trade
Trade fueled by high demand for labor
Spread of Old World diseases -> native americans caused low population in New World
Cultivation of Old World crops were well-suited to New World soils and climates
In 19th century, flow of slaves slowed bc of British
Employers resorted to indentured laborers
Some voluntary. Many died on the voyage. Denied the right to citizenship after their contracts ended
Columbian Exchange: the exchange of diseases, ideas, food crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following Christopher Columbus’ voyage (1492)
Old World: the entire Eastern Hemisphere
Gained:
Discoveries of new supplies of metals
New staple crops
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Maize
Cassava
Less calorie-intensive foods
Tomatoes
Chili peppers
Pineapples
Cacao
Peanuts
Other stuff
Tobacco
Sugar
Coffee
Losses:
Enabled the transmission of diseases
They gained syphilis
They gave:
Smallpox
Cholera
Measles
Typhus
Effects on Africa and Asia
European exploration / colonization aided by the New World discovery of quinine
Quinine: the first effective treatment for malaria
Cultivation of crops in the Americas and devastation of Native populations from disease = demand for labor
Demand met with abduction of 12 million Africans (16th - 19th cent)
Disease from the Old World to the New World
Major killers: smallpox, measles, whooping cough, chicken pox, bubonic plague, typhus, malaria
Native populations were immunologically defenseless
80-95% of the Native American population was decimated within the first 100-150 years following 1492
Syphilis
Spread from the New World to the Old World
Syphilis was fatal, and its symptoms were more severe
Symptoms: genital ulcers, rashes, large tumors, severe pain, dementia, eventual death
Became less fatal over the years - by the 17th century it was what it is today
Two theories:
Columbian Hypothesis: the disease causing agent originated in the New World and was spread in 1493 by Christopher Columbus and his crew, who acquired it from the Natives of Hispaniola through sexual contact. After coming back, men joined the military campaign of France and exposed local prostitutes to the disease. They spread it further when they returned home.
Evidence: bacterium causing syphilis arose recently in humans and is closely related to a variation of a disease found in South America
Pre-Columbian Hypothesis: the disease always existed in the Old World, but it hadn’t been differentiated from other diseases with similar symptoms.
The debates over the true origins of venereal syphilis have been a direct consequence of the difficulty in distinguishing syphilis from other diseases and left similar bone scars.
The Transfer of New World foods to the Old World
IMPACT: population explosion, Industrial Revolution
The Columbian Exchange expanded the global supply of agriculture
Introduced previously unknown species to the Old World that resulted in caloric and nutritional improvements, complimented existing foods, or evolved local cuisine,
Caloric improvement | Complemented | Evolved cuisine |
---|
The discovery of the Americas gave the Old World land to grow crops that were in high demand.
Sugar, coffee, soybeans, oranges, bananas
New World foods today are an important part of our diets.
Staple crops: potatoes, maize, cassava
Primary benefit of the New World staples: they could be grown in Old World climates that were unsuitable for the cultivation of Old World staples
The potato had the biggest impact
Provides an abundant supply of calories and nutrients
Able to sustain life when consumed as the only food when supplemented with milk or butter
Spurred population growth
Increased urbanization
Caprisicum pepper
Ancestor to most peppers consumed today
Impact on cuisine - paprika, chili peppers, spicy kimchi
Health advantages
Nutritious: vitamin a, b, c, magnesium, iron
Aids digestion
Treats pain, respiratory disorders, shingles, toothache, and arthritis
Tomatoes
Originated in South America
Brought to Asia by Spaniards in 1564
Weren’t cultivated in China until the 20th century
English travelers reported Spanish tomatoes in North Africa 1671
Don’t preserve well, so canning process increased shelf life
Before 1890, canning was costly and manual
Mechanization of canning at the turn of the 20th century lowered the cast and increased tomato consumption
Tomatoes are consumed most by Old World countries
Health benefits
Vitamins a and c
Lycopene may help reduce cancer
Cacao
Columbus first brought back cacao pods after his 2nd voyage to the New World
First cultivated in 1590 by the Spanish off the coast of Africa
First used in expensive chocolate drinks
Spain → italy → france
Chocolate drinks quickly changed from being novelty drinks to a regular drink for the middle class
Spanish held a monopoly on production and trade until the 17th century
French and Dutch also produced
Cultivation came late to Africa but now African countries are among the world’s largest producer of cacao
Has lifting psychological effects
Has high energy output - important for expeditions where they could only carry a little food
Plain Vanilla
Comes from forests in s mexico, c america, and northern s america
Became popular quickly in spain
Luxury for the wealthy
French couldn’t cultivate it until after 1836
Tobacco
Native Americans began to use tobacco 1 bc
Used as a hallucinogen during religious ceremonies, painkiller
Quickly adopted by Europeans
First used as a medicine
In England, chiefly used by sailors
Used as currency
Virginia made it legal 1642
Maryland used almost only tobacco currency
During American Rev War, the gov used tobacco as collateral for part of its loans from France
Buddhist monks used tobacco seeds as payment
Use increased around ww1
Negative health effects discovered in 1950s
Anti-smoking campaigns developed over next four decades
Coca
Leaves grown from bushes in the Andes
Incans chewed them during religious rituals
Spanish settlers brought the practice back to Europe
Coca Cola initially contained marinated coca leaves, substitute for alcohol when it was illegal
Cocaine is highly traded but illegal
Improved cultivation of Old World foods in the New World
Old World crops today have 26%+ of their total production in the New World
Old World crops flourished in the New World, and New World crops flourished in the Old World.
New/Old World = east/west, so plants could find a climate similar to their native
Transplanted crops flourished bc they didn’t have the pests and parasites that had co-evolved with them
Forced and voluntary migrations to the Americas
16th-19th centuries
trans-Atlantic slave trade
Trade fueled by high demand for labor
Spread of Old World diseases -> native americans caused low population in New World
Cultivation of Old World crops were well-suited to New World soils and climates
In 19th century, flow of slaves slowed bc of British
Employers resorted to indentured laborers
Some voluntary. Many died on the voyage. Denied the right to citizenship after their contracts ended