jan 1, 1492 - Exchanges: Columbian Exchange (WXT)

Description:

Spain’s westward expansion led by Christopher Columbus’ first expedition opened the door for a great exchange between the Old World and the New World, known as the Columbian Exchange, named after Christopher Columbus who’s rediscovery of the New World kicked off the various exchanges between both worlds. The Columbian Exchange encompasses the many incredibly important exchanges of foods, plants, animals, pathogens and disease from and to (and vice versa) between Europe and the Americas. In terms of foods, sugarcane was introduced to the Americas where it would grow well in the Bahamas, and foods such as white potatoes and tomatoes would become staples of diets in various European countries. Animals were particularly introduced into the Americas, with livestock and horses changing the lives of the natives (as well as new technology such as the wheel, which would have had no prior purpose due to the lack of labor livestock in the Americas), and pathogens as well, with syphilis being introduced to the Europeans, and diseases such as smallpox to the natives, devastating their populations due to a lack of immunity. Generally, the exchange of ideas and culture was one-sided between the Europeans and Americans, with Europeans generally either enforcing upon or more introducing their religions and customs to the Natives and rarely the other way around.

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