Knowledge

The basis of knowledge, timeline what it means to relates to

Examples

Things that happened which relate to this theme

Columbian Exchange https://knowt.com/flashcards/02b8ef50-525a-4e84-acd6-458b33db8fbd

Historians

Big names, essay to remember relate to a lots of things, not even quotes just ideas

My opinions

What you think about the theme, good for forming arguments. How to react to what you’ve written and learnt. For example I think the theme of the church is really linked to people’s social lives and how medieval people lived.blue = info answers essential question

green = info corresponds to course framework

yellow = vocab words bolded in textbook

pink = questions about info

purple = key historian

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock and comedian Desiree Burch in the 15th century to learn all about the Columbian Exchange, which is often described as the start of globalisation. We go beyond the expeditions of Christopher Columbus to share the bigger story of a monumental exchange of plants, foods, animals, materials, people and culture across the continents. It’s also a life lesson on why you shouldn't set sail with a couple of cougars aboard your ship!

Greg Jenner:

• Columbian Exchange = proc. by which people, animals, foods, plants, even microbes were all introd. to new lands where they are now considered so normal that we don’t even realise they are important.

• Story characterised on the hwle by cruelty & horror: 10,000s dying in story colonial viol. & genocide, devastating pandemics

• But Columbian Exchange also story two-way spread animals, foods, plants coming in & out Americas

Caroline Dodds Pennock

Term ‘Columbian Exchange’ invented 170s by Alfred Crosby to descr. this big exchange.

• Eurocentric term (puts all emphasis on Columbus when he actually just discov. Bahamas → Indes & white men going out & discovering when it is really ab. the exchange)?

This is a reciprocal exchange; things go both ways.

Globalisation the beginnings of global networks

• whilst some root these in silk road, those networks are within continents even if they are big

• columbian exchange means they span the whole world

OW Animals

• co

NW animals → OW

• Because Amerindians didn’t use animals for farming (didn’t plough their fields; used digging sticks: mixed agriculture) → human manpower to dig around animals, using people/water to move things around

  • CE result: large farming animals (cows, goats, pigs, sheep, donkeys, horses) seen as essential to European soc. imported v/early on.

    • Discourse atm over whether horses were indigenous (→ indigenous connection to horses pre-dates CE)/Spanish brought them w/them → we do know though that Spanish introd. many morse horses/diff. breeds horse

    • (within 8 yrs) large populations these domesticated animals due to lack predators, lots grasses, roots to eat

      • sheep initially don’t fare well because too hot in Mexico but flourish Andes

      • COWS: (report as early 1520s) herds 500-8000 cows Hispaniola → (immed. after Conqest 1521) reports cattle ranches, w/some raches by late 1500s (explosion cattle farming) over 150,000 cattle: effects on landscape = changing up ecology area

        • That many for food + hide → leather → big export back to Spain + tallow wax → candles cheaply avail. across Americas → more widely avail. → indigenous & enslaved made to work longer hrs

      • PIGS: European animal that most quickly → part indigenous food chains (can keep in house to keep warm; need no land to graze upon), w/pork → primary meat for poor

      • But 90% lamas die SA under careful stewardship Europeans due to mismanagement

NW crops/plants → OW

• beans, corn, squash

• Pennock: most important plant export = wood

  • Espec. (French) brazil wood (early; hard + makes amazing red dye) → rubber (later) brought back by Columbus

  • CE: transatlantic → global across colonies → demand increases massively → rubber trees planted Sri Lanka, Singapore & Belgian-controlled Congo (used as shield to run slavery Congo 10 mil. die)

• Nicotine more deadly

  • In tobacco - huge part indigenous life in Americas - after CE, farmed & grown in Virginia Colony → 1 most consumed substances in world

  • Smoking pipe = widespread indigenous practice, seen as essential to physical, spiritual & emotional wellbeing - sniffed, smoked, chewed, etc (see 31 mins in)

  • Columbus presented w/dried tobacco leaves 1492 12th oct. - ceremonial gift he throws away

• tomatoes (all around Spain & Italy by end 16th), chilis (Portuguese introd. → South Asian cooking, beg. network reaching across Africa & Asia), avocados, pumpkins, papaya, potatoes (European & Indian curries), blueberries, peanuts, maize, all beans except soy beans, squash (African) (3 plants so central to indigenous cuisine called ‘3 sisters’, grown tog.)

  • most valuable in contemporary global trade: peanut & sunflower oil

  • potatoes not taxed upon → eaten more widely

  • pineapple diffic. to grow Europe so imported → symbol luxury, imprinted in bannisters, conversation starters - could rent them for table for dinner parties

NW crops/plants → OW

• wheat (white bread), olives (olive oil), sugar, onions, citrus fruits ← Spain, pears, peaches, grapes, cauliflower, cabbages, lettuce, figs

  • wheat takes while to grow well → white bread remains luxury

  • citrus fruit grows quickly

• plants being ceded into new lands & cultures

Tobacco also important

• medicinal significance

  • relaxing → still medicinally endorsed into 20thC (whilst potatoes viewed w/suspicion) (neurosuppresent)

    • calmed nerves

    • helped virility & digestion (smoke after eating)

• wealth

  • class statement to smoke

• leisure

  • relaxing

  • history of the senses - time fillers in era w/lot time to fill

  • heavy component socialising/ social activity; just like sports, drinking & smoking

• currency

  • expense → commodity/ value in itself (market product in itself besides its value to be used)

  sheep

  • livestock taken to America, fitted perfectly (espec. w/Andes - mountainous → otherw. be diffic. land for livestock + cold - need fatty meat)

  • decreased pop. Amerindian animals → monoculture + deforestation

  • still going on today w/cattle (to feed fast-food diet) - EM parallels to modern day

a lot Columbian exchange = positive impact on Europe; negative impact on America

• surprising since NA more diverse - impact humans imposing monoculture, etc

🍅

these all increase food security → enable food to be thought ab. as someth. ← which to derive pleasure rather than just source energy → don’t have to eat food because don’t like it for 1st time

🐴 = transportation; meat; manure for crops; symbol power

donkey = hybrid → sturdy; can carry more weigh

sugar cane = cash crop (plant for profit; thing had value in itself - didn’t need to proc. it but could hand it off to another enterprise) + helped sweet British things (cake, tea, etc) → central to GB identity

alcohol, tobacco, sugar

• their effects would be exacerbated on malnourished EM body (whole maize have equivalent energy as 1 our modern kernels