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The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange was the transatlantic trade of crops, technology, and culture between the Americas and Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The ships La Niña, La Pinta, and La Santa María made Columbus' first voyage across the Atlantic.

Exchange of Goods

When Europeans came to the Americas, they brought some things that were new to the Native Americans, such as wheat, cows, horses, firearms, wheels, laws, languages, and customs.

Europeans returning from the Americas brought back many new items to Europe, like peanuts, pineapples, tomatoes, potatoes, cocoa, and tobacco.

Goods moving from the New World to the Old World

  • Food: corn, potatoes, beans, cocoa beans
  • Precious metals: gold, silver
  • Tobacco

Goods moving from the Old World to the New World

  • Food: wheat, sugar, rice, coffee beans
  • Livestock: horses, cows, pigs
  • Diseases: smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus
global map showing North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. An arrow that says 'From the Americas' points east towards Eurtope, Africa, and Asia. An arrow that says 'From Europe, Africa, and Asia' points west towards the Americas.
See larger version of the trade map here.

Here's a more comprehensive list:

Items traded from the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia

  • Tobacco
  • Sweet Potato
  • Avocado
  • Peppers
  • Peanut
  • Potato
  • Tomato
  • Corn
  • Beans
  • Vanilla
  • Pumpkin
  • Turkey
  • Squash
  • Pineapple

Items traded from Europe, Africa and Asia to the Americas

  • Produce:
    • Turnip
    • Peach
    • Olive
    • Banana
    • Honeybees
    • Sugar Cane
    • Citrus Fruits
    • Coffee Bean
    • Grape
    • Pear
    • Onion
  • Disease:
    • Smallpox
    • Influenza
    • Typhus
    • Measles
    • Malaria
    • Diphtheria
    • Whooping Cough
  • Livestock:
    • Cattle
    • Sheep
    • Pig
    • Horse
  • Grains:
    • Wheat
    • Rice
    • Barley
    • Oats

Native Americans Devastated

Any benefits brought to the Native Americans by the arrival of the Europeans were far outweighed by the misery that came with them. Native Americans were used as forced labor before slaves were brought from Africa.

Furthermore, diseases (such as smallpox, typhus, and measles) spread rapidly, devastating entire Native American populations.

Aztecs suffering from the smallpox, as depicted in the 16th century Florentine Codex.

Triangular Trade

The triangular trade was trade that occurred between the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

World map of North and South America, Europe, and Africa. An arrow from the Americas pointing east to show sugar, tobacco, and common going to Europe. An arrow from Europe pointing south to show textiles, rum, and manufactured goods going to Africa. An arrow from Africa pointing west to show slaves being sent to the Americas.
See larger version of triangular trade map 1 here.

Plantations and Enslaved Africans

Plantations were large farms that produced crops for sale (also known as "cash crops"). Plantations required a large numbers of workers to labor long hours.

World map of North and South America, Europe, and Africa. An arrow from Africa pointing west to show slaves being sent to the Americas. An arrow from the middle of the Americas, in the Caribbean, pointing north to show sugar being sent to New England. An arrow from New England in North America pointing east to show rum and goods being sent to Africa.
See larger version of triangular trade map 2 here.

The first enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas in 1517. The Europeans constructed a cruel system to supply slaves, who were regarded as property, to the Americas.

The Middle Passage

As part of the triangular trade system, the Middle Passage was the terrifying journey enslaved Africans made across the ocean in the hull of a slave ship. They were involuntarily taken from their homeland and forced into slavery in the Americas.

See larger version of the interior plans of a slave ship here.

This is a close-up of the previous picture. Can you see how close the people were on the slave ships? It was a miserable trip from Africa and many did not survive.

See larger version of the slave ship close-up here.
class="margin_top50">Cause and Effects of the Columbian Exchange

The Causes:

  • A desire to accumulate wealth
  • A rebirth of a spirit of inquiry
  • Improved seafaring technology

Led To:

  • Europeans exploring the Americas

Which Caused:

  • The exchange of goods and ideas between Europe and the Americas
  • The devastation of Native American populations by European diseases
  • The participation of European countries in the West African slave trade