Corey+Hendrickson's+Editorial

=**Columbian Exchange Good or Bad?**= The beginning of the Columbian Exchange all stared with a man that went by the name of Christopher Columbus. Columbus wanted to find a quicker and more efficient way to India, but when he sailed he found something bigger and more exotic than he has ever seen in his whole life. He found another side of the globe, the New World, also known as the Americas. The Americas are 10 times bigger in comparison to Europe and what he reported to Queen Isabella was land to be conquered, people to covert, riches and gold. After this was sent to the Queen, society in both worlds would turn their lives upside down! Columbian Exchange changed society for the better. The New World and Old World exchanged goods like cocoa, sugar cane, oranges, bananas, tomatoes, pineapples, fish, mangoes, corn, etc. One of the goods that made the biggest impact on Europe was the potato. This vegetable benefited the Irish the most in a positive manner. Also, the New and Old Worlds exchanged animals like cattle, pigs, llamas, sheep, mules, and cows. One of the biggest impacts that affected the Americas was horses! When the Old World brought along horses, the Indians could not stand up against them, but they were very much so amazed by this creature. Within 350 years of Columbus's second voyage, there were seven million horses all around the North America! The Indian's used the horses as an advantage like getting food and going long distances. An animal that made an impact on Europe's diet was the turkey. Some of the bad things that came out of the exchange was diseases like small pox, for the Indians, and French pox, for the Europeans, but that still doesn't cast a big enough shadow to cover up all of the good things that occured in this time frame. Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue to find another route to India, but came upon a whole new view of the world in 1492 and never looked back. The reasons why the creation of the New World was possible was due to the fact of the plants and animals that were exported in the Americas! Some of you might think that this exchange was bad due to the losses of the Indians throughout the Americas, but we wouldn't be where we are today if Columbus made his "mistake"!