The Colombian Exchange: Exploration and Effects on Native Americans

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Following the success of Spanish explorers and conquistadors in what is now called South America, other European nations began exploring Northern America in the hope of finding similar riches and resources. The desire for raw materials was twofold; first, the resources would increase the nation’s wealth by exploiting them. Second, there was the need for new trade routes after the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople increasing trade costs with the East (Corbett et al., 2017). The English began their exploration of the Americas later than the French and Spanish. While also desiring resources, some English colonists fled religious persecution in England.

The Colombian exchange was the name given for the complex movement of goods and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Staples of modern agriculture like potatoes, chocolate, and beans, as well as diseases, such as syphilis, were transmitted from South America to Europe and Africa. Slaves were bought and shipped from Africa to North and South America, while livestock like pigs and horses entered America from Europe for the first time (Corbett et al., 2017). This rapid movement of capital and ideas would accelerate the European economies and revolutionize agriculture.

In South America, the Spanish, following their initial conquests, enslaved and exploited the native population. The North American Natives were not enslaved in the same manner; however, both native populations were decimated by disease. Over the centuries, Europeans had developed antibodies against smallpox, mumps, and measles, but the natives had no protection (Corbett et al., 2017). As a result, millions of Native Americans died from diseases across both North and South America. Knowledge of immune systems and germs did not exist at that time. However, Europeans would have been familiar with the concept of disease transmission, as they knew how to use quarantines to suppress outbreaks. As the Europeans cared little for the Natives, no preventative measures were taken, putting at least part of the responsibility for the epidemics on the Europeans.

Reference

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., & Vickery, P. S. (2017). U.S. history. OpenStax.

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