USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Christopher Columbus introduced horses, sugar plants, and disease to the New World, while facilitating the introduction of New World commodities like sugar, tobacco, chocolate, and potatoes to the Old World. The process by which commodities, people, and diseases crossed the Atlantic is known as the Columbian Exchange.

Detailed explanation-2: -Possibly the most dramatic, immediate impact of the Columbian Exchange was the spread of diseases. In places where the local population had no or little resistance, especially the Americas, the effect was horrific. Prior to contact, indigenous populations thrived across North and South America.

Detailed explanation-3: -The exchange introduced a wide range of new calorically rich staple crops to the Old World-namely potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, and cassava. The primary benefit of the New World staples was that they could be grown in Old World climates that were unsuitable for the cultivation of Old World staples.

Detailed explanation-4: -In 1492, Columbus brought the Eastern and Western Hemispheres back together. The resulting swap of Old and New World germs, animals, plants, peoples, and cultures has been called the “Columbian Exchange.”