4.3: The Columbian Exchange

• Columbian Exchange = transfer of people, animals, plants, and disease from the Eastern to the Western Hemisphere and vice-versa

• Columbian Exchange wrecked havoc for the natives as it brought disease

• Meant extraordinary wealth for Europeans

• Introduced new ways of life for both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres

Diseases and Population Catastrophe

• Disease largely spread from Eastern Hemisphere → Western Hemisphere

• Native Americans had limited immunity to the diseases brought by Afro-Eurasians due to their prolonged separation, resulting in devastating consequences

• Smallpox, an airborne disease that Europeans were exposed to for centuries, was brought over to Americas
• Europeans had decent immunity but the Natives had no immunity to smallpox

• Other diseases included malaria, measles, the flu

• These diseases wiped out majority of the natives

Animals & Food

• These exchanges went both ways (East ↔ West)

• Europeans introduced pigs, cows, wheat, grapes to Americas
• Eventually became staples of the American diet

• Europeans also introduced horses
• Changed lives of Natives who lived in the Plains: they could now hunt buffalo more efficiently and that meant more food
• Also gave tribes with horses military advantage over tribes w/out horses

• Americas gave cacao, maize (corn), and potatoes
• These crops led to an expanded diet and massive population growth in Afro-Eurasia

• One notable thing is that during this time period, Africa’s population actually increased
• Despite the fact that a lot of men were being enslaved and sent to the Americas, crops from the Americas like yams greatly boosted African populations

Agriculture and Labor

• While Spain and Spanish America initially profited from silver, the Portuguese decided to focus on agriculture, specifically sugar

• Brazil was perfect for sugarcane plantation

• Portuguese first enslaved Natives for labor
• Two problems with this:
1. Natives knew the land better than the Europeans and would often escape into the hills and forests
2. Also a lot of them died from disease, meaning there was still a lack of labor

• Next, Europeans started importing slaves from Africa
• Portuguese imported particularly from Kongo Kingdom and cities on the Swahili coast
• As the demand for sugar ⬆️, the number of African slaves imported ⬆️
• So many African slaves were imported in Brazil that they later became the majority

Working Conditions for Slaves

• Sugar plantations in Brazil processed so much sugar that they were called engenhos (meaning “engines”)
• The conditions on these engenhos were absolutely awful

Spain and Cash Crops

• Spain looked at Portugal’s success with agriculture and decided to also pursue agriculture

• Spain grew cash crops like sugar and tobacco and Caribbean

• Eventually, sugar eclipsed silver as the main moneymaker for European empires

Impact of African Presence in Americas

• Africans created creole languages that combined the language of their European colonizer with their West African language

• Africans also brought rice and okra to Americas

Environmental Impact of Columbian Exchange

• Native Americans, before Europeans, developed agricultural techniques carefully designed to maintain their land

• However, Europeans’ aggressive use of land in the Americas to plant cash crops led to large-scale deforestation and soil depletion

• Increase in European settlement led to increase in population, which put greater strain on resources like water