Mr. Brown
AP World History
26 February 2015
On the Effects of the Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange had a great impact on the demographics and environments of both Europe and the Americas between 1492 and 1750. It brought prosperity to the Europeans while bringing destruction to the Native Americans. They did, however, both benefit in areas such as nutrition and health. The demographics of Europe and the Americas both changed radically because of the Columbian Exchange. The exchange of foods such as the potato and citrus fruits would benefit the nutrition of people on both sides, as a greater variety in a diet is beneficial. However, deadly pathogens were also exchanged. Smallpox and measles from the Old World devastated Native American populations, killing 80-95 percent of those afflicted. In contrast, the only major disease given to the Europeans was syphilis, which did not have anywhere near the capacity to kill that smallpox and measles had. In fact, the European population increased due to the increased trade and better nutrition. Also, while the ethnicity of European countries remained predominately European, the Americas saw a massive shift from a pure native population to being a mix of Natives, Europeans, and African slaves. This was largely due to the lack of plantations in Europe along with the abundance of plantations in the Americas. In addition, since European countries colonized the Americas, it is only logical for them to migrate and settle in their newfound colonies rather than allow the Natives to come to Europe. They fueled the Columbian Exchange, and they controlled and manipulated it so that they could profit and prosper. In terms of the environment, the Columbian Exchange brought great change to Europe and the Americas. The aforementioned exchange of crops led to different plants being grown on farms, some spreading into the neighboring ecosystems. This introduced wild oats to the Americas, where they became a noxious weed, reducing the quality of other crops. Europe, however, experienced no such invasive plant life from the Columbian Exchange. Animals also used the Columbian Exchange to spread. In addition to
