Columbian Exchange

Christopher Columbus and his crew landed on the shores of the Bahamas in 1492. Although he wasn't the first European to discover the Americas, his voyages helped initiate European conquest of the New World and facilitate communications between Europe and America. His innocent discovery instigated the Columbian Exchange- a rapid exchange of plants, animals, human populations (slaves), and diseases between the Old and New Worlds (PBS). The Columbian Exchange had dramatic effects on both worlds, some negative and some positive.

The Native Americans greatly suffered from the arrival of the Europeans. Their populations remarkably decreased since they possessed no immunities for the diseases- small pox, malaria, and yellow fever- brought over from the Old World (Kennedy). The Spanish conquistadores that came to America felt superior to the Native Americans, and therefore created the Encomienda System (Kennedy). Under this system, Indians were forced to work for Spanish landlords and convert to Christianity. Most Europeans treated the natives with violence. In fact, many Indian civilizations were destroyed by the Europeans, who conquered the empires and stole all of their gold and other riches. In some areas, the Native Americans were banished and forced to leave their ancestral lands. The misdeeds of the Europeans in the New World were so harsh that they led to the creation of the "Black Legend", which stated that conquerors only tortured and killed the Indians, stole their gold, infected them with smallpox, and left misery behind (Kennedy).

Although the concept of the "Black Legend" was mostly true, Europeans did not bring only devastation to the New World. Indians were introduced to law systems, architecture, livestock, new crops, and Christianity. Europeans also brought horses, which provided Native Americans with a new form of transportation, and the opportunity to begin a nomadic lifestyle (Crosby).