In human history, this is an important historical event about many projects of ecology, agriculture and culture.
Columbus first sailed to America in 1492, which was a century-long large-scale voyage and the beginning of the connection between the old continent and the new world. This ecological change is called "Columbus Exchange".
This species exchange has changed the lifestyles of Europeans, Americans, Africans and Asians. A large number of imported foods have become the staple food of human beings, and new planting areas have been developed to grow more crops.
Before 1000 A.D., potatoes were not planted outside South America, but the great famine in Ireland in 1840 was caused by poor potato harvest. In addition, since16th century, Portuguese merchants introduced corn and cassava from America to Africa, which replaced the original crops and became the most important staple crops on the African continent. /kloc-In the 6th century, Spanish colonial rulers introduced sweet potatoes and corn to Asia, which enriched the food and stimulated the population growth in Asia.
Horse is one of the earliest species introduced to America in Europe, which turned the native American tribes on the Great Plains into nomadic people who hunted bison with horses. Similarly, tomatoes from the United States have become raw materials for making ketchup in Italy and become trademarks. Other similar situations include:
Tomatoes are popular in France.
Cocoa in Africa and sugarcane in Asia have become the main cash crops in Latin America.
Pepper/Chili powder and potatoes introduced from Portugal to India from the United States are now the main ingredients of Indian cuisine.
Plants native to the New World. (clockwise from top left) 1. Corn (corn) 2. Tomato. Potatoes. Vanilla (vanilla) 5. Rubber tree in Brazil. Coco. Tobacco (tobacco)
Before the Columbus Exchange, the origin of many species was quite different from modern cognition:
There are no oranges in Florida, USA
There are no bananas in Ecuador in South America.
There are no red peppers in eastern Europe and Hungary.
There are no tomatoes in southern Europe and Italy.
There is no coffee in Colombia in South America.
There will be no pineapples in Hawaii.
Rubber trees will not be introduced into Africa.
There are no cows in Texas, USA
Mexico has no donkeys.
There are no peppers in Thailand and India.
There is no tobacco in western Europe and France.
There is no chocolate in western Europe and Switzerland.
Europeans introduced dandelion to North America because it was originally used as a herb.
Plants native to the old world. (clockwise from top left) 1. Rutaceae; 2. Apple (Apple); 3. Banana (Musa); 4. mango; 5. Allium; 6. coffee; 7. Wheat seeds. ; 8. Rice
Among the 20 crops with the largest yield in the world, the first five (corn, potato, cassava, tomato and sweet potato) are from America, while the sixth (grape) is a plant grafted from Europe to America. The rest of the old world crops on the list (milk, soybeans, wheat, sugar, beets, sugar cane, rice, oranges, onions, sorghum, eggs, barley, lettuce, chicory and apples) are all over the world. Among the top 20 crops in demand in the United States, half are native to the United States. [ 1]
A large number of domesticated animals and infectious diseases (such as smallpox) were brought to another continent through immigration and trade, which had a great impact on various places. But centuries later, many people in Eurasia have become highly immune to new diseases. However, the native Americans lacked immunity and could not fight against infectious diseases from the old world, which dealt a great blow to the native American population. It is generally believed that the death toll of Native Americans caused by smallpox far exceeds the casualties caused by any war.