The Columbian Exchange was one of the most influential periods of time in American and world history. Food, plants, animals, metals and a numerous amount of diseases were all brought forth into the New and Old Worlds. The amount of goods and services that were sold and transferred during the years of the Columbian Exchange were uncalculatable. A lot of global change erected from the Columbian Exchange and with the exchange came a never ending connection between the Old and New Worlds that ran deeper than the ocean they had to travel across. There were many new cultural, social, political, and economic connections that were made between the Americas and the Caribbean to Europe, Asia, and Africa.
People of different upbringings told stories. People of different backgrounds shared laughs. People of different views put their differences aside. People of different classes came forth to pursue the same thing: profit. The Columbian Exchange, as Crosby called it, is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in the United States, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. To ecologists, the Columbian Exchange is arguably the most important event since the death of the dinosaurs (Mann 6).
When the new settlers came into the New World, they had no idea what major impact the Columbian Exchange was soon to bring to both worlds.Cristopher Columbus was a very experienced sailor and had taken a number of trips before he sailed west on his most famous voyage. He had gone to many different countries, asking the rulers to sponsor him on his quest to Asia. Spain had finally granted him his request and they gave him three smallish ships. Contrary to popular believe, Columbus, like the majority of the world, knew the world was rou. .
ru, were where a significant amount of the silver was coming out of and New Granada, Viceroyalty of Granada, was where most of the gold was coming from. The Americas were regulating 181 tons of gold and 16,000 tons of silver. With that said, between 1600-1650, sugar production, along with cotton, indigo, and rice, was 90-95% of the economy. The impact that the Columbian Exchange had on the economy was something the world will never see again.The Columbian Exchange’s effects are still felt today. It was one of the most, if not the most, significant events in the history of the New and Old Worlds socially, culturally, politically and economically.
It globalized the entire world and today’s culture would be completely different without the Columbian Exchange. There will never be another event that will have as big as an impact on the world then the Columbian Exchange.
