The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian exchange and the silk route are different because

A difference between these two trading systems, however, is that the Columbian exchange took place over seas and the Silk road was mainly land routes. Biological exchanges throughout the centuries have been very important parts of history.

Migration

Along with diseases, crops and cattle, many humans also migrated from Europe to the Americas and vice versa. The biggest population that migrated from the Eastern hemisphere to the West was African slaves. These slaves were shipped to South America, North America and the Caribbean. A small amount of Europeans also migrated to the Americas and settled in areas that weren't touched by the diseases from 1500-1800. During the 19th century an even larger amount of Europeans came and settled in the Americas, Australia, the Pacific Islands and many other places. This large migration of people to the Americas had a profound impact on the world and have influenced modern day world history.

Commerce in the New World

As Europeans expanded their market reach into the colonial sphere, they devised a new economic policy to ensure the colonies' profitability. The philosophy of mercantilism shaped European perceptions of wealth from the 1500s to the late 1700s. Mercantilism held that only a limited amount of wealth, as measured in gold and silver bullion, existed in the world. In order to gain power, nations had to amass wealth by mining these precious raw materials from their colonial possessions. Mercantilists did not believe in free trade, arguing instead that the nation should control trade to create wealth and to enhance state power. In this view, colonies existed to strengthen the colonizing nation.

What caused the Columbian Exchange?

Explorers spread and collected new plants, animals, and ideas around the globe as they traveled.

Epidemic Diseases and Population Losses

Infectious diseases caused a severe drop in population to people of the Americas and Pacific Islands. Smallpox was one of the worst diseases that was transmitted to the New World, but there were other diseases such as Measles, Diphtheria, Whooping cough and influenza. These diseases were much more popular in the Eastern Hemisphere, so they were mostly endemic as people had developed a resistance to it, however they took a serious toll on the Americas, wiping out huge populations. Beginning in 1519, Smallpox wiped out a huge portion of the Aztec empire, and caused a drop of 20 million people in Mexico's population. The Spanish people then imposed their rule on Mexico, and the native traditions all began to disappear. By 1530, the diseases spread all the way up to the Great Lakes in the north and all the way down to Argentina in the south. The same effect occurred in the Pacific Islands, wiping out a huge amount of the population. In total, the diseases spread from the Columbian Exchange wiped out about 100 million people.

Food Crops and Animals

Overall, the Columbian Exchange increased the population, due to all the new crops and foods that were being brought over from both sides. From Europe, wheat, vines, horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens were brought to the Americas. Wheat was good for the climate of America in the North and the humid and dry lands of Argentina. Cattle was a good source of meat and it transformed grass into milk, which added new vitamins and nutrients to the diet of many natives in the Americas.

The Columbian Exchange could be compared to

The Silk Road The Columbian exchange is similar to the Silk roads because the Columbian exchange was a trading system that connected the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia and the Silk Roads were also a trading system that connected China, India, Byzantine and many other empires.

Columbian Exchange.

The process by which commodities, people, and diseases crossed the Atlantic is known as the Columbian Exchange.

Colonial mercantilism

a set of protectionist policies designed to benefit the colonizing nation, relied on several factors: - Colonies rich in raw materials - Cheap labor - Colonial loyalty to the home government - Control of the shipping trade Under this system, the colonies sent their raw materials—harvested by enslaved people or native workers—to Europe. European industry then produced and sent finished materials—like textiles, tools, manufactured goods, and clothing—back to the colonies. Colonists were forbidden from trading with other countries

Mercantilism

an economic theory that rejected free trade and promoted government regulation of the economy for the purpose of enhancing state power, defined the economic policy of European colonizing countries.

Christopher Columbus

introduced horses, sugar plants, and disease to the New World, while facilitating the introduction of New World commodities like sugar, tobacco, chocolate, and potatoes to the Old World.

Commodification

quickly affected production in the New World. American silver, tobacco, and other items—which were used by native peoples for ritual purposes—became European commodities with monetary value. Before the arrival of the Spanish, for example, the Inca people of the Andes consumed chicha, a corn beer, for ritual purposes only. When the Spanish discovered chicha, they bought and traded for it, detracting from its spiritual significance for market gain. This process disrupted native economies and spurred early commercial capitalism.