1. The Colombian Exchange
By: Elizabeth Gonzalez

2. A little History
• Christopher Columbus set sail in search of gold
and spices but what he found was a land full of
peoples with crops and animals never seen
before.
• There was an exchange of goods,
primarily from the old to new world.

3. Beasts of Burden
• The buffalo roamed free on the land until the buffalo
hunt. 10 million were slaughtered for coats and rags. The
Buffalo’s were replaced with horses. This allowed the
Indians free time to concentrate on Art and Philosophy.
• Cattle, ranching and gauchos became a tradition of the
America’s, Argentina included. A new breed of cows
were bred from Spanish and English cattle that created
the longhorn. Cowboy’s were glorified in movies as being
centered in the wild west but rarely were they seen
herding cattle.
• Wheat later replaced cattle.

4. The Andes and the Potato
• The potato or “food of the poor” was seen in 100’s of variances. It
was easy to grow due to the fact that it would grow on barely usable
land. The potato became the distinction between life and death. It
increased Population by the millions.
• German’s were skeptic of the potato thinking it would cause illness
and were ultimately tricked into eating it and liking it.
• Irish famine of 1845 caused the death of 1 million and the migration
to America (primarily Boston ) of another 1 million. The British
government help came to late to save the destruction.
• The influence of the Irish in Boston prompted developments in the
Democratic party.

5. Slaves and the Caribbean
• Sugarcane was grown by enslaved imported
Africans
• They would work 12-18 hours a day, and
produce 6-10 tons per day.
• Had the highest mortality rates, and a high death
rate.
• Nigeria lost millions of people in slave trade.

6. Slaves and the Caribbean
• Sugarcane was grown by enslaved imported
Africans
• They would work 12-18 hours a day, and
produce 6-10 tons per day.
• Had the highest mortality rates, and a high death
rate.
• Nigeria lost millions of people in slave trade.