Columbian Exchange

Can you imagine a world that has Italian pasta without tomato sauce to smother the noodles? How about having a hamburger without any fries? Or maybe an alternate reality where the Irish potato famine of the 19th century never happened? Well, without the Columbian Exchange all of these scenarios could have played out in very real ways.

The Columbian Exchange is one of those AP World history concepts that you simply must know for your upcoming AP World History exam. It has helped to shape the world that we have come to know and love today, but it is also a perfect example of how historical events have shaped cultures, societies, environments, and even what we eat across the world. But not all of it has been great. Some have suffered and others have benefited from its affects.

We will cover these things and more in this AP World History crash course on the Columbian Exchange and let you in on how it has shaped historical events from across the globe. Plus, at this end of this AP World History Review, we will explain how the concept itself might pop up on the AP World History exam you are planning on taking. So, let’s take this trip around the world with Christopher Columbus and discover how he and his resulting Columbian Exchange changed global history!

What is the Columbian Exchange?

You might think that the Columbian Exchange might have only to do with Christopher Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic and the exchanges he made there. Well, that would only be sort of correct. This AP World History concept is Columbus’ namesake, but it’s also so much more. Columbus’ expeditions have sent massive ripples throughout history that we are still feeling the effects of today. So, before we get too bogged down in the details, let’s get this AP World History crash course started by asking, what is the Columbian Exchange? Simply put, the Columbian Exchange was the extensive movements of plants, animals, diseases, and peoples between the Old and New Worlds after Columbus made his famous voyage in 1492. But this is also one of those AP World History concepts that pertain to more than just physical items like the potato. The exchanges that took place included ideas, cultures, and technology that were transmitted across the world at that time.

Columbian Exchanges

You may not have known this, but before Europe’s intrusion upon the Americas, Europeans had never eaten a tomato before. There was no such thing as pasta marinara. Travesty.

But seriously, there were massive amounts of foods and animals that were transferred between the Americas and the rest of the world at this time. Europeans brought over things like olives, onions, rice, turnips, and apples. While they took avocados, corn (maize), squash, pumpkins, and rubber.

On top of that, goose, pigs, horses, and chickens were taken to the Americas while llamas, turkeys, alpacas, and guinea pigs were taken back to Europe.

And this is just a tiny snippet of the kinds of things that were exchanged between the two parts of the world. Massive, and we mean massive, amounts of stuff was brought between these parts of the world that used to be isolated from each other in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Columbian Exchange

Now, all of this seems great, right? What’s wrong with a little bit of exchange now and again? I mean, without European apples there would be no phrase, “American as apple pie.” But therein lays the historical problem. And as an AP World History review, we love historical problems.

Although there were definitely some great things that came about from the Columbian Exchange, it most definitely was not even-handed. The Europeans got the good deal, while indigenous Americans suffered.

One of the main reasons for this was the rampant spreading of disease. As we are sure you aware (but in case, you aren’t, that’s why we are reminding you in this AP World History crash course review), one of the reasons that Europeans sought land elsewhere was that the continent was overcrowded and undernourished, which is prime territory of pathogens.

In other words, Europeans were dirty and diseased. Native Americans, on the other hand, were not packed together and considered hygiene an important part of social and cultural life. And disease like measles, smallpox, and yellow fever came along with European bodies and goods.

The native populations of the Americas had no natural immunities to any of these. All of this meant a decimation of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is believed that about 90% of the people in the Americas died from these diseases. Europeans, on the other hand, found easy to grow and nutrient rich foods like the potato to feed their starving populations. One side definitely benefited more than the other.

The Whys and Hows of the Columbian Exchange

We are all about questions in these AP World History reviews, so why not ask: “what explains the events of the Columbian Exchange?” Or maybe, “Why does this matter?” And remember, these are the types of questions that AP World History examiners want students to comprehend when they are studying AP World History concepts like the Columbian Exchange.

So, what you need to remember is that European were not just exchanging out of the kindness of their hearts. They were colonizing. They were colonizing not only the land, but the people, the animals, the plants, and the environment. When European explorers like Columbus took plants and animals from their natural habitats, they were looking for ways to reproduce them back in the Old World to help to expand their populations and strengthen their nations.

They also wanted to control the land and its vegetation while in the Americas as well. This meant exploitation for profit. And what became one of the most profitable ways to plant? Slavery. The Columbian exchange resulted in the massive movement of African men and women in to the New World, but while enslaved. This also meant that cash crops like sugar cane and eventually cotton would overtake otherwise diverse vegetable life.

But they were also there to take over the land. And when it came time for the native peoples to attempt to defend the places that they had called home for all those years, their populations were so depleted from disease, that they simply could not keep up. This had led to a takeover of the Americas by the Europeans.

And finally, the Columbian Exchange resulted in the introduction of invasive species. This is a tricky term that’s fraught with meaning, but for the purposes of the AP World History Exam and this AP World History crash course in general, just remember that plants and animals were introduced in the New World that totally thrived and took over the indigenous flora and fauna.