The Columbian Exchange Or Grand Exchange Was The Widespread Transfer Of Animals
The Columbian Exchange or Grand Exchange was the widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, technology and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and 16th centuries, related to European colonization and trade after Christopher Columbus ' 1492 voyage. Although unlikely to be intentional at the time, communicable diseases were a byproduct of the Exchange.
The contact between the two areas circulated a wide variety of new crops and livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres, although diseases initially caused precipitous declines in the numbers of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Traders returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in Europe by the 18th century. Similarly, Europeans introduced manioc and peanut to tropical Asia and West Africa, where they flourished in soils that otherwise would not produce large yields.
The term was first used in 1972 by American historian Alfred W. Crosby in his environmental history book The Columbian Exchange. It was rapidly adopted by other historians and journalists and has become widely known.
Origin of term
In 1972 Alfred W. Crosby, an American historian at the University of Texas at Austin, published The Columbian Exchange. The term has become popular among historians and journalists, such as Charles C. Mann, whose book 1493 expands and updates Crosby 's original research.
Influence
Crops
Before AD 1500, potatoes were not grown outside of South America. By the 1840s, Ireland was so dependent on the potato that the proximate cause of the Great Famine was a potato disease.Maize and manioc, introduced by the Portuguese from South America in the 16th century, have replaced sorghum and millet as Africa 's most important food crops. 16th-century Spanish colonizers introduced new staple crops to Asia from the Americas, including maize and sweet potatoes, and thereby contributed to population
The contact between the two areas circulated a wide variety of new crops and livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres, although diseases initially caused precipitous declines in the numbers of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Traders returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in Europe by the 18th century. Similarly, Europeans introduced manioc and peanut to tropical Asia and West Africa, where they flourished in soils that otherwise would not produce large yields.
The term was first used in 1972 by American historian Alfred W. Crosby in his environmental history book The Columbian Exchange. It was rapidly adopted by other historians and journalists and has become widely known.
Origin of term
In 1972 Alfred W. Crosby, an American historian at the University of Texas at Austin, published The Columbian Exchange. The term has become popular among historians and journalists, such as Charles C. Mann, whose book 1493 expands and updates Crosby 's original research.
Influence
Crops
Before AD 1500, potatoes were not grown outside of South America. By the 1840s, Ireland was so dependent on the potato that the proximate cause of the Great Famine was a potato disease.Maize and manioc, introduced by the Portuguese from South America in the 16th century, have replaced sorghum and millet as Africa 's most important food crops. 16th-century Spanish colonizers introduced new staple crops to Asia from the Americas, including maize and sweet potatoes, and thereby contributed to population
References: External links in the Encyclopedia of Earth by Alfred W. Crosby by Jeremy Adelman, Stephen Aron, Stephen Kotkin, et al. study guide, analysis, and teaching guide