Final project for World History II Prof. Guy Mount Auburn University

1. Cheyanne Blevins
Matt Boest
Davis Boyd
Anna Collins Branch
Priscilla Boyer
The Columbian
Exchange
Prof. Guy Mount History 1020

2. What is the Columbian Exchange? (Pages 3-8) -Priscilla Boyer
Agricultural Impacts of the Columbian Exchange (Pages 9-13) -Cheyanne Blevins
Religious and Cultural Impacts (Pages 14-19) -Matt Boest
Struggles Surrounding the Columbian Exchange (Pages 20-25) -Anna Collins Branch
How the Columbian Exchange Affects Us Today (Pages 26-29) -Davis Boyd
Table of Contents

3. What is The Columbian Exchange?
The Columbian Exchange, also known as the The
Columbian Interchange, occurred in the late 15th
century and early 16th century beginning with
Christopher Columbus’s (after which it is named)
arrival to the Americas. The Columbian exchange is
most commonly known for its exchange of plants,
animals, diseases, and people between the Old World
and the New World. The “Old World,” consisted of
Europe and Africa while the “New World” was the
Americas.

4. What is The Columbian Exchange?
These exchanges were transported across the Atlantic Ocean
by ships between the Newly found Americas, Europe, and
north west Africa, primarily for the benefit of the European
settlers in America. While most of these exchanges were
traded intentionally, the crops for food, the material goods
for settling, and the slaves for work, others were not. The
diseases. They were shared between the people of these
continents quickly and violently.

5. What is The Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange made our planet
biologically singularly. Which means that
everything from diseases to livestock is now not
only where they originated but spread all over
the world. Whether or not this was a good or bad
thing is still argued about today and can left to
an individual's opinion. Today we hope to provide
you with information that will help you develop a
better understanding of this event in history and
therefore, possibly formulate your own opinion
on the matter.

6. What was exchanged?
On the next slide there will be a picture of the route
and some of the things exchanged will be listed.
Take a moment and see if you can place some of
these goods in the correct arrow. Were they coming
from the Old World or the New World, or the New
World to the Old World? Continue, on to the
following slide to see the correct placement of the
goods.

7. What was exchanged?
Some things exchanged- Smallpox, Influenza, Typhus, Measles, Malaria, Syphilis, cattle, sheep,
pigs, horses, tomates, corn, squash, grapes, bananas, sugar cane, olives, peanuts, pumpkins,
grains, tobacco, peppers, vanilla, onions, cacao, coffee beans, peaches, pears, turkeys

8. What was exchanged?
Below is the correct placement for some of those things

9. Agricultural Impacts
A huge way that the Columbian
Exchange still affects our culture and life
today is through the exchange of plants
and animals between what was the Old
World and the New World.

10. Exchange of Foods
➔ Many foods we know and love come from
American soil
◆ Potatoes, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes,
Beans, Cacao, Vanilla, and so on
➔ There were also foods brought to the
Americas from Europe, Africa, and Asia
◆ These included Sugar Cane, Coffee Beans, Various
Fruits, and Many Grains
● At what price?
(Ignore her comment about horses, that is to be discussed)

11. New Industries in Agriculture
➢ The exchange of these goods led to new production industries in
agriculture- most of which are still booming today
➢ Sugar cane production, wheat production, and meat production
all became prominent sources of income and exchange for the
Americas as the soil was well suited to harvest these new crops
○ The US continues to be one of the top producers for wheat and sugar production.
○ The US is currently the #1 producer of beef in the world.
➢ Many foods originally harvested by the Native Americans, such
as corn and potatoes, became staple items for other countries.
○ These crops could withstand cold weather and keep millions of people fed
for relatively cheap
■ This led to higher reproductive rates, and naturally, larger
populations amongst many countries.

12. Horses from Columbus?
One common misconception that we still hear about the Columbian exchange is that horses were brought to
the Americas AFTER Columbus’ arrival.
However, this was briefly debunked when in the 1830s paleontologists discovered horse skeletons
embedded in American soil that dated back to the pre-ice age era. These fossils turned out to be the oldest of
any found in the world.
Source:
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/yes-world-there-were-horses-in-native-culture-before-the-settlers-came-JGqPrqLmZk-3ka-IBqNWiQ
Left: Image from "The Relationship Between the Indigenous
People of the Americas and the Horse: Deconstructing a
Eurocentric Myth”, Yvette Running Horse Collins PhD
Dissertation at University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Right: Photo of a clay horse statue dating back to Pre-
Columbus times

13. Horses from Columbus?
It was then presumed that horses originated in the Americas and were wiped out during the ice
age only to return when Christopher Columbus came to the Americas.
However, this was also proven wrong.
While horses were definitely more scarce during this time, Native tribes in the Carolinas were
documented with horses before Spanish horses could have made it to that area of the mainland.
Many Native Americans find issue with the ongoing assumption that horses were provided by
settlers, almost as a gift to them.
“Because horses were a symbol of status and civilization in Spain during that time, and because conquerors needed to
illustrate the Native people as savage and uncivilized to justify their conquest to the Queen of Spain, the truth about the
relationship between Native peoples and the horse was purposefully distorted”
-Paleontologist and Lakota/Nakota.Cheyenne scholar Yvette Running Horse Collins
Source:
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/yes-world-there-were-horses-in-
native-culture-before-the-settlers-came-JGqPrqLmZk-3ka-IBqNWiQ

14. Religious and Cultural Impacts

15. DID YOU KNOW THIS?
Native Americans and
Spanish
Native
Americans who
had children with
Spanish settlers
were known as
“Mestizoes”-
meaning mixed
Africans and Native
Americans
Africans who had
children with
Native Americans
were known as
“Zambos”
Africans and Spanish
Africans who had
children with
Spanish who were
involved in the
Slave trades were
known as
“Mulattoes”
01 02 03
This began the mixing over different cultures and explains why a lot of African culture is assimilated to
European traditions and religion, because children of these couples had an open door into both cultures
and incorporated some of each component. Art and music was also heavily influenced both all three
groups and langauge also shifted in these areas to accomodate for children of mixed descent.

16. With different groups having
children reside in to different
cultural background, it brought
those groups together, integrating
religion, art, and music as one
assimilated subgroup
Cause
While slaves were brought over to
the Americas had to endure
hardship, there was cultural gain
that happened over generations at
a very steady pace
Effect
Catholicism became a
large component to
African as well as
Native American live
as a result of having
Spanish influence.
African culture seeped
into both Native and
Spanish culture as well

17. Reasoning for Religious
disputes + Video
The biblical verse from Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and
subdue it” became the overarching theme of coming into native american territory and
taking it for themselves and converting any and all to Christianity. Many native americans
were forced off their sacred lands and sites and forced to relocate west, which often ended
in the results of the Trail of Tears many years later. Without the strong presence of Native
American culture and leadership, representation of these ideals were not present and it
wasn't until 1978 that the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was signed giving
legitimacy to all native american religion.
https://youtu.be/2Di2
lp2DA_o

18. Another big culture shock that is a result of the
Columbian Exchange that isn't often attributed to it
is the expansion and immigration of
Irishmen/women. Due to the influx of potatoes to
Ireland, the population grew exponentially, resulting
in the immigration of nearly two million
Irishmen/women to America in the 1800-1900’s.
The potato famine in Ireland also played a large role
in the immigration of Irish migrants, but without the
Columbian Exchange, the Irish would have never
been reliant on potatoes and the population would
not have grown to what it is now without a reliable
food source. Irish immigrants often populated the
Pennsylvania state and region, bringing their art,
music, Protestant religion and many other aspects
of their life with them to America.

19. Video of irish
Immigration
https://youtu.be/M8
Rbj7H0eX4
This video highlights how
many Irish Immigrants
left Ireland and England
and why they did, as an
direct result of the
Columbian Exchange.
Potato trade to Ireland
helped boost their
population but they
became too reliant on the
food source and ended up
with large scale famine.
This made many
immigrate to the
Americas, serving as an
example of the the
Columbian exchange has
lasting effects up until
even the last century.

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Struggles Surrounding The Columbian
Exchange Although the Columbian Exchange
had some positive effects, it also had
its fair share of negative effects.
Diseases such as smallpox and
syphilis were brought to the
Americas by the Europeans and
wiped out a large amount of the
New World's population. The major
problem with these diseases is that
these people had never encountered
anything like it and had not
developed any cure or defenses
against the diseases.

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Diseases
Not only were humans affected by diseases, but animals were
impacted by the sharing of germs during the Columbian Exchange too.
The livestock brought over by Christopher Columbus notably attacked
the alpacas and llamas which were extensively used in the Americas.
Rats would catch rides on the ships coming over, infesting the
Caribbean islands with each visit, therefore impacting the local food
supplies. Even chiggers were introduced during the Exchange, creating
new threats of insects that could create a serious infection.

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As a result of these epidemics and the brutal destruction of many Native
American populations, many Native American civilizations were left weakened
and vulnerable to attack and conquest by the Europeans. Native Americans
were also forced to relocate from their own home land, and would be killed if
they refused.
Native people experienced food shortages and their cultural identity was
stripped from them as they left behind the world they knew before.

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Slave Mistreatment
The Columbian Exchange was also a big part in transporting slaves during this time,
as well as during history to follow. Slaves were transported by boat in heinous
conditions. Boats were extremely overcrowded and food was scarce or completely
unavailable. Up to 2 million slaves died from the horrid conditions of what became
commonly known as the Middle Passage, while a broader look attributes over 4
million African deaths due to slavery as a whole.

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How it affects people today
Indigenous population was reduced a staggering 90% following European
colonization. To date, many Native American tribes have still not recovered
and flourished since the arrival of settlers on American soil. Today, 1 in 3
Native Americans live in poverty and many reservations struggle with
finding clean water, jobs, and even suitable schooling for their own children.

26. Economic Impact
The Columbian Exchange’s economical
impact on the world can still be seen
today. Many countries involved saw
their economy boom from the massive
decrease in population starvation as
well as from the new plantations
bringing in revenue from the New
World. This helped many European
countries rapidly develop and advance
which led to eventual world
Superpower status which can still be
seen today.

27. Cultural Impact
The Columbian Exchange impacted both
the New and Old World in big ways that
still affect us today. For one: The different
foods introduced to both Eurasia and the
New World helped different countries
create their own array of now world
renowned dishes. Without the columbian
exchange, Italy wouldn’t have had
tomatoes to help created many of the
pasta based foods that they are known for
today.

28. Social Impact
Not every long lasting impact of the
Columbian Exchange was beneficial. The
large amount of massive farms and
plantations helped lead to the African
Slave trade. Even after slavery was
abolished and segregation was ended,
racial injustice has run rampant
throughout the world even up to today.

29. SOURCES
http://images.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/AL/H
ooverCity/SpainParkHigh/Uploads/Forms/Colu
mbian%20Exchange%20Reading.pdf
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-
history/precontact-and-early-colonial-era/old-
and-new-worlds-collide/a/the-columbian-
exchange-ka
https://www.britannica.com/event/Columbian-
exchange