The Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food e Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food
crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World. Populations between the New World and the Old World
following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
The Old World—by which we mean not just Europe, but the entire Eastern
Hemisphere—gained from the Columbian Exchange in a number of ways. Discoveries
of new supplies of metals are perhaps the best known. But the Old World also
gained new staple crops, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, and cassava. Less
calorie-intensive foods, such as tomatoes, chili peppers, cacao, peanuts, and were also introduced. Now they are culinary centerpieces in many Old World countries, namely Italy, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries. India and Korea (chili peppers), Hungary (paprika, made from chili peppers), and
Malaysia and Thailand (chili peppers, peanuts, and pineapples). Tobacco, another
New World crop, was so universally adopted that it came to be used as a substitute
for currency in many parts of the world. The exchange also drastically increased or currency in many parts of the world. which were the availability of many Old World crops, such as sugar and coffee, particularly well-suited for the soils of the New World. aThe exchange not only brought gains, but also losses. European contact he exchange not only brought gains, but also losses. European contact finally enabled the transmission of diseases to previously isolated communities.
