Bailey+Feely

The Columbian Exchange: Good or Bad?

The Columbian Exchange is one of the most important events to take place in history. This huge transfer of goods, culture, and knowledge between Europe and America created the world as we know it today. It began after Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the Americas. The Columbian Exchange consisted of Europeans moving to America, bringing along the things that they had in the “old world,” and also taking things from the “new world” to Europe. Europeans brought many animals along that were new to the land. They brought horses, which were the main source of transportation for the people for thousands of years. The domesticated animals that they brought and the new plants and crops transformed the new world. Europeans eventually took over the Americas, with the diseases and weapons that came with them from Europe. They took the lives of Native Americans to gain control over the land. The discovery of the new world benefited the old world countries with the bountiful forests and open space. In Europe, a very large amount of forest had been cut down. The Europeans began shipping wood from America. The land in America was used to grow tobacco and cotton, both things that were very high in demand in Europe. The world as we know it today is the result of the Columbian Exchange. Almost all of the different cultures, foods, technology, and knowledge that we have were gained from the contact that we are able to make with other countries. The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus was very important, and is the reason for the lives we live. If the Columbian Exchange had never taken place, we would most likely be living on the other side of the world, crowded and lacking the natural recourses needed for survival. We might not even be alive at all! Native Americans would still live on the open plains of America, and we would not have the fast-paced lives, the knowledge, or the freedom we have today.