The Columbian Exchange, Essay Example

The Columbian exchange discusses a trade deal between the New World and the Old World that contributed to the availability of a diverse number of crops in the Old World (Levack et al, 2011). Exchanging these foods positively added to the diversity of food that people were able to enjoy. In fact, this trade deal allowed the Irish to first encounter the potato, which is significant because it allowed farmers in the area to cultivate a large quantity of food due to the ideal conditions present in Ireland to allow for the growth of this tuber. On the other hand, this exchange allowed the transfer of livestock such as cattle to the Americas where they flourished.

There immediate benefit of the Columbian exchange is that people were able to enjoy foods from diverse lands and come to appreciate a new understanding of culinary arts. On the other hand, the farming and livestock storage techniques resulted in an altering of natural land. For example, forests were razed to use as farmland because fertile soil was required. In addition, this wider availability of food contributed to a shift in population that resulted in a greater number of people being able to live in cities. This shift was true for people living in both the Old World and the New World, and this move to the city changed the aspects of life for many different individuals, ranging from the type of work they participated in to support themselves to the types of houses they lived in. Trade results in an exchange of not just products, but ideas as well. It is apparent that the Columbian exchange contributed to the development of modern life as we know it today.

References

Levack, B., Muir, E., & Veldman, M. (2011). The west: Encounters & transformations, Vol I (Rev: 3). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Longman.