Inca-era terraces on Taquile are used to grow traditional Andean staples, such as quinua and potatoes, alongside wheat, a European import. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. In Agriculture, a terrace is a leveled section of a Hilly cultivated area designed as a method of Soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid Taquile is an island which sits on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca 45 km offshore from the city of Puno. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. A staple food is a Food that forms the basis of a Traditional diet. The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East.

The Columbian Exchange has been one of the most significant events in the history of world ecology, agriculture, and culture. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The term is used to describe the enormous widespread exchange of plants, animals, foods, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres that occurred after 1492. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the The Western Hemisphere, also Western hemisphere or western hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies West Many new and different goods were exchanged between the two hemispheres of the Earth, and it began a new revolution in the Americas and in Europe. In 1492, Christopher Columbus' first voyage launched an era of large-scale contact between the Old and the New Worlds that resulted in this ecological revolution: hence the name "Columbian" Exchange. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans Asians and Africans in the 15th century The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia.

The Columbian Exchange greatly affected almost every society on earth, bringing destructive diseases that depopulated many cultures, and also circulating a wide variety of new crops and livestock that, in the long term, increased rather than diminished the world human population. Maize and potatoes became very important crops in Eurasia by the 1700s. Manioc and the peanut flourished in tropical Southeast Asian and West African soils that otherwise would not produce large yields or support large populations. The cassava, yuca, manioc, or mandioca ( Manihot esculenta) is a woody Shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family native The peanut, or Groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the Legume family Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico

Examples

This exchange of plants and animals transformed European, American, African, and Asian ways of life. Of the world's top 26 crops, measured by weight of production, eight originated in the Americas. One third of the crop value within the United States depends on foods that were first grown in the Americas.

New foods became staples of human diets and new growing regions opened up for crops. A growing region is an area suited by Climate and soil conditions to the cultivation of a certain type of crop For example, before AD 1000, potatoes were not grown outside of South America. By the 1840s, Ireland was so dependent on the potato that a diseased crop led to the devastating Irish Potato Famine. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world One of the first European imports, the horse, changed the lives of many Native American tribes on the Great Plains, allowing them to shift to a nomadic lifestyle based on hunting bison on horseback. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that This is an article about an animal For other uses see Bison (disambiguation. Tomato sauce, made from New World tomatoes, became an Italian trademark, while coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became the main crops of extensive Latin American plantations. The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco Also the chili / paprika from South America was introduced in India by the Portuguese and it is today an inseparable part of Indian cuisine. The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried sweet red or green Bell peppers ( Capsicum annuum) India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

Before the Columbian Exchange, there were no oranges in Florida, no bananas in Ecuador, no paprika in Hungary, no tomatoes in Italy, no pineapples in Hawaii, no rubber trees in Africa, no cattle in Texas, no burros in Mexico, no chili peppers in Thailand and India, no cigarettes in France and no chocolate in Switzerland. An orange —specifically the sweet orange —is the Citrus fruit Citrus sinensis ( syn Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried sweet red or green Bell peppers ( Capsicum annuum) Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Pineapple ( Ananas comosus) is the common name for an edible Tropical Plant and also its Fruit It is native to the southern part of Brazil The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A cigarette ( French "small Cigar " from cigar + -ette) is a product consumed through Smoking and manufactured This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Chocolate ( pronounced or /-ˈələt/ comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical Cacao tree Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Even the dandelion was brought to America by Europeans for use as an herb. The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. A(n herb (ˈhɝb or /ˈɝb/ see pronunciation differences) is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties flavor scent or the like

Before regular communication had been established between the two hemispheres, the varieties of domesticated animals and infectious diseases were strikingly larger in the Old World than in the New. This led, in part, to the devastating effects of Old World diseases on Native American populations. The smallpox epidemics probably resulted in the largest death toll for Native Americans. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Scarcely any society on earth remained unaffected by this global ecological exchange.

Table of comparison

Unintentional introductions

In addition to the diseases mentioned above, many species of organisms were introduced to new habitats on the other side of the world accidentally or incidentally. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum. Yaws (also Pétasse tropica, thymosis, polypapilloma tropicum, pian or parangi) is a tropical Infection Yellow fever (also called yellow jack, black vomit or sometimes American Plague) is an acute viral disease These include such animals as brown rats, earthworms (apparently absent from parts of the pre-Columbian New World), and zebra mussels. Earthworm is the usual name for the largest members of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author in the phylum Annelida In classical The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a Species of small freshwater Mussel, an Aquatic Bivalve Mollusk. Plants thus introduced include many weeds, such as tumbleweeds, wild oats, and kudzu. Avena fatua is a species of grass in the oat genus. It is known as the common wild oat. Pueraria lobata (syn P montana P thunbergiana) (sometimes known as foot a night vine, mile a minute vine, Gat Gun, Ge Gan and Even fungi were transported, such as the one responsible for Dutch elm disease. Dutch elm disease (DED is a fungal disease of Elm trees which is spread by the Elm bark beetle. Some of these species became serious nuisances upon being established. Plants that were introduced to Europe after 1492 are so-called Neophytes, whereas plants that made it over the sea before that date are called Archaeophytes. An archaeophyte is a plant species which is non-native to a geographical region but which was introduced in "ancient" times rather than being a modern introduction

See also

Articles

• Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
• Population history of American indigenous peoples
• Domestication
• Guns, Germs, and Steel
• Alfred Crosby
• Transformation of culture

Sources

• The Columbian Exchange: Plants, Animals, and Disease between the Old and New Worlds in the Encyclopedia of Earth by Alfred W. Crosby
• Worlds Together, Worlds Apart by Jeremy Adelman, Stephen Aron, Stephen Kotkin, et al. Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact describes alleged interactions between the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and peoples of other continents – Africa, It is thought that up to 100 million indigenous people may have lived in The Americas when the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus began a historical period of large-scale Domestication (from Latin domesticus) refers to the process whereby a Population of Animals Guns Germs and Steel The Fates of Human Societies is a 1997 book by Jared Diamond, professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA Transformation of culture, or cultural change, refers to the dynamic process whereby the living Cultures of the world are changing and adapting to external or internal
• New study blames Columbus for syphilis spread from Reuters Jan 15, 2008

External links

• Foods that Changed the World