Columbian Exchange Negative Effects Essay

The Columbian Exchange was a global trade that Columbus participated in starting in 1492. The trade started because European explorers discovered the Americas and found things that they could trade for to make more profits. This trade was between Europe, Africa, and the Americas also called the New World. The Columbian Exchange had positive and negative effects on Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Throughout the Columbian Exchange, Europe encountered many positive and negative effects. One of the positive effects, was the introduction of maize to Europe. Maize helped feed European animals and people, resulting in huge amounts of population growth. It gave the Europeans a new ingredients for their food, and eventually became a major food …show more content…
One negative effect of the Columbian Exchange on the Americas, was the diseases brought over by the Europeans. The diseases caused much death, in some places even as much as 90 percent of the native population died out. One Mayan author wrote a passage about how life was free from disease and illness, but then the Europeans brought these horrors over when they arrived. The death from the European diseases also resulted in the lack of a labor force, contributing to the use of African slaves. One positive effect on the Americas, was the arrival of new crops. These crops included wheat, which grew to feed millions of people. In spite of the positive effects of some crops, other crops that were introduced had negative effects. Some crops were harmful to the ecosystems that were already there. Other crops benefited the Europeans more than the natives, and some of the natives preferred their own foods over the new ones. Another positive effect that the columbian Exchange had on the Americans, was the arrival of horses. This was positive because horses allowed the natives to hunt more efficiently, especially the natives who hunted buffalos. Horses also allowed the native to travel faster and do better in