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Columbian Exchange Research Paper

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The widespread exchange of everything known and seen today in the modern world is a direct result of the legacy that is the Columbian Exchange. When Christopher Columbus voyaged and found a means to connect the Old and New Worlds, the events of transportation of goods in exchange for goods were popular and normalized in the Old World. Even today, we see the lasting effects of this exchange in ways that the average person will often overlook. From tangible goods like foods, plants, animals, and technology to conceptual goods such as language, metrics, cultures, and ideologies, the Old World was rich with a wealth of knowledge that was ready to be shared. Paying close attention to tools used to simplify and enrich lives, most of what we note …show more content…
As culinary manufacturing and processes have improved for ready-to-eat snacks and meals in grocery stores, it has become increasingly easy to forget where our food comes from. Some of the most basic ingredients in our households, like bread flour, sugar, and baking sweets, are just another example of how the transatlantic exchange has benefited our lives. Wheat, for instance, the main ingredient in bread flour, was first found to be cultivated in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East some 10,000 years ago (Zohary and Hopf). Since then, wheat has become one of the most significant ingredients in diets across the globe, gaining even more traction following its introduction in the New World. Pasta, bread, and various other baked goods are just a few examples of the way we see wheat being incorporated into our diets. Similarly, a foundational ingredient in every culture and household to this day is sugar. Derived from the sugarcane plant, which originated in New Guinea and Southeast Asia, sugarcane is not only a necessity for the culinary arts, but its introduction to the Caribbean and South America also boosted the economy through trade and became a cornerstone of the sugar industry, which thrived from the 18th century to the 20th century (Hobsbawm). In the same vein, the chocolate that we know and love today began as a Mesoamerican ingredient introduced to the …show more content…
Ideologies such as Christianity, measurement systems like the Imperial and Metric systems, languages and terminologies, as well as diseases, were all exchanged by the explorers, colonists, and traders of the time period. Christianity, specifically Catholicism and Protestantism, spread widely throughout the Americas by European settlers. Missionaries and churches were established in cities, and the cultural impact of these ideologies found their way into laws, ethics, and traditions across the Western Hemisphere (Crystal). Subsequently, travelers also brought with them navigational tools like the imperial and metric systems, which remain in use today (Whitfield). The metric system, widely used in European countries, remains second to the Imperial system in the United States. Finally, the largest barrier between trade and societal understanding remains language. The languages spoken throughout the Americas today are a direct result of the Columbian Exchange. English, Spanish, and French were all introduced by colonizers and have become the most dominant languages across North and South America (Crystal). In conclusion, many of the necessities found easily accessible in the Americas today are a byproduct of the undeniable impact the Columbian Exchange left on our society and economy. Ranging from the food we eat and the materials we use, to the languages we speak and

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