Columbian Exchange

Essential Question- What were the causes of the Columbian Exchange and its effects on the Eastern and Western Hemispheres?

Columbian Exchange- interactions of europeans, native a americans, and africans

diseases and population catastrophe

  •    before columbus, east and west hemisphere isolated

  • disease caused much death as natives not immune to euro dieseases

  • euros used horses, gunpowder and metal weapons in conquest

  • conquistadores spanish solders, Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes brought smallpox

  • colonists brought insects, rats and diseases vectors

  • measles, influenza, malaria, smallpox

  • native population dropped by 50%, american lands lost up to 90% of population

  • one of greates population disasters in history

Animals and Foods

  • major component in exchange was livestock and crops

  • mesoamericans ate little meat before colonization

  • mexican people knew nothing of pork/beef before euros

  • wheat and grapes introduced, became staple in american diet

  • brought horses, transformed culture of indian living in plaints, could hunt buffalo on horseback efficiently, surplus of food, more time for art and spirituality

  • competition/ armed conflict grew more between tribes, more horses= more power

  • euros took back meso maize, potatoes, beans, peppers, cacao

  • started to grow these crops, potatoes so popular they are considered native in some places

  • caused tremendous population growth in europe

Cash Crops and Forced Labor

  • people also part of the exchange, brought enslaved africans to americas

  • brought biologicals and demographic changes, africans brought okra and rice, tobacco and cacau produced on plantations with forced labor, sold to euros, africa, middle east

  • slave traders kidnapped millions, but populations grew in africa, nutritious foods introduces, uams and manioc from brazil

lure of sugar

  • portuguese focused on agriculture

  • brazil was perfect for sugarcane cultivation

  • not eneough laborers as they died from disease, many escpaed to brazilian jungle

  • portuguese started to import enslaved from africa, kongo kingdome, cities on swahili coast

slavery

  • sugar increased africans captured and sold in transatlantic slave trade

  • sugar cultivation demanded constat slave labor

  • laborers so numerous in brazil, became major part of region

  • 90% of slaves went to carribean and south america

  • 6% went to british north america

  • until mis 1800s, more africans than euros in the americas

  • slaves deid from backbreaking work, poor butrition, lack of shelter, heat, disease

  • so much sugar produced, called engenhos, means engines in portuguese

  • horrible working conditions, lost 5-10% of slaves per year

growing cash crops

  • spanish noticed portuguese success, returned to the carribean to pursue cash crops-sugar and tobacco

  • sugar replaced silver for main money maker in euro empire

african presence in the americas

  • africans retained some aspects of their culture in diasporas

    languages

  • africans couldnt bring their language to the americas

  • slaves taken from myraid african cultural groups

  • many diddnt have a common language

  • difficult to communicate on route, lost languages after a generation

  • creole was created with the mix of west african language and colonizers (english, soanish, french, portuguese)

  • creole languages dominated in carribeam

  • gullah and geechee language in south carolina/georgia where enslvade pop big 75%

music

  • africans brought music with them

  • influenced gospel, blues, jazz, rock, hip hop, samba, rap, reggae, country

  • used singing as a means of survival, sung tunes from home ot endure work, communicaition, like planning on escape

  • blened euro christian music with own religious songs, called negro spirituals

  • enslaved invented banjo, similar to instruments in africa

food

  • rice and okra, brought knowledge on how to prepare

  • gumbo- roots in african cooking

  • profound impact on america

enviroment and demographic impact

  • contact between afroeurasia and americas brought drastic change

euros used agriculture land more intenselt than natives

colonist cut down trees for planting crops, large fields, deforestation and soil depletion

  • euros live in mroe dense areas than natives, strain on water and concentrated pollition