The Columbian Exchange
Potatoes, maize, horses and smallpox change continents
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Alfred Crosby named the phenomenon in 1972. The caloric effect was dramatic: the potato alone is estimated to account for a quarter of Europe's population growth between 1700 and 1900, while maize and sweet potato enabled China's expansion. In the other direction went smallpox, measles and influenza, depopulating the Americas on an unmatched scale — so severely that the regrowth of abandoned farmland may have contributed to the Little Ice Age. Tomato, chilli, cacao, tobacco and rubber reshaped cuisines and industries worldwide.
For children
Suddenly plants and animals could cross the Atlantic. Potatoes and maize from the Americas became staple foods in Europe, Africa and Asia. Horses and cattle went the other way. But the ships also carried diseases that killed millions in the Americas.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org