A Changing World: Specific Groups Affected by the Exchanges

Introduction 

The exchanges between the new and the old world took place during the Europeans invasion into the America and other lands. During the colonial era, many Europeans, who were known as the old world had gotten into the new world, which was majorly America. During this period, the Europeans had the motivation and interests in the American land in which they were centered towards the extraction of the vast natural resources, spread Christianity to the new world and to colonize the land. While the old world had their interests, they had also brought in some of the benefits to the new world. In what was known as the Columbian exchange, several things changed notably in the new world following their interaction with the old world. The Columbian exchange has been defined as the exchange of ideas, food, diseases, culture and crops between the old and the new world. Technological innovations and trade, cultural exchanges and conditions were the primary elements that emerged in the interaction between the new and the old world. 

Major Aspects 

At the core of the exchanges between the old and the new world was new technological innovations and boosted trade. The Europeans on arrival to the American land came in with several technological innovations that were aimed at increasing their economic gain and fostering their colonization plan. For example, there were inventions of compasses, caravels, and astrolabes by the old world. The new world was rich in natural resources which had not been utilized. As a result, the Europeans gained massively through the exploitation of these resources which they then took back to their countries. A significant example is the discovery of the metal supplies by the Europeans which they mined and took back to their countries. The extraction of natural resources boosted trade between the Europeans other countries where the materials were exported. The Columbian exchange marked the beginning of the global business which was enhanced. The oceans that separated different parts of the world was no longer a barrier after the introduction of modern means of transportation that allowed people across the globe to connect with each other. 

Cultural exchanges and crops also took place between the old and the new world. The most significant contribution that the new world made to the old world was crops plants. In the new world was crops such as maize, potatoes, chiles, and manioc which became a crucial part of the diet for the millions of the old world population ( Zohary, Hopf & Weiss, 2012 ). The old world also acquired a variety of crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes, and maize. The fewer calorie foods such as tomatoes, cocoa, and peanuts were also adopted by the old world and are now found in countries such as Italy and Greece. Many European countries acquired the new world crops and took them to their countries where they still exist to date. However, it was not only the old world which adopted the new plants from the new world. The Europeans who had settled in America also opted to cultivate the old world crops such as wheat and apples. They also introduced other plants and weeds such as couch grass, groundsel, and chickweeds. They also exposed the new world to domesticated animals. Some of these crops from the old world are still found in the new world currently following the exchange. Religion also another area of exchange that took place between the new and the old world. The Europeans came to spread Christianity to the old world. Initially, the contact between the Europeans and Americans started as a cultural exchange process between the new world and the old world. It later moved to exchange of crops in what led Europeans economy shifting towards the capitalism. 

The contact with the Europeans also led to the new world being exposed to diseases which they had no resistance against leading to deaths of many people. An example was the spread of smallpox, measles, malaria and chicken pox which killed so many people from the new world. This led to a decrease in the population of the new world leading to some effects such as labor thus affecting the economy of the natives. Europeans also brought syphilis to the new world, and while this had been less deadly, it has been associated with a significant social disruption that has occurred in the new world. Before the invasion of the Europeans into the new world, Native Americans had lived in a disease-free environment. 

Specific Groups Affected by the Exchanges 

The major groups that were mainly affected by the new world and old world exchanges were the Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans. Native Americans were primarily affected negatively by the contact between the new world and old world. First, the colonization by the Europeans brought in new diseases that did not exist before ( Harper et al.,. 2011). Several diseases were spread from the old world to the new world. These include smallpox, measles, chicken pox and malaria. Because these diseases were new and the Native Americans had not formed immunity against such diseases, many people lost their lives. This led to a reduction in the population of the Native Americans. The population dropped with a large number leading to the labor shortage thus affecting the economic growth. The success of any economy depends on the availability of the labor force. The European diseases also eliminated a third of the Hispanic population. The Europeans diseases were the main negative impact that occurred to the Native Americans following the exchanges and contact with the old world. 

Africans was another group of people who were affected negatively by the exchanges between the old and the new world. Following the diseases that were devastating the natives, Europeans had to turn to Africans for labor ( Boivin, Fuller & Crowther, 2012 ). This led to the start of slavery where Africans were transported to go and work as slaves in America. The impact of this was devastating. As strong young men were being taken for the slave trade in America, African countries were left without enough strong people to provide labor for their country. Many societies who lost their sons to slave trade were left devastated and distorted. Africa lost millions of its citizens in the slave trade during the period. 

Europeans were also affected by the exchanges between the new world and the old world. The Europeans had new crops being, foods and animals being taken back to Europe from the new land. This had both positive and negative effects on the Europeans. The positive side of this is that these crops provided a valuable source of foods to the Europeans. However, the negative impact is that it destroyed the home crops that were previously cultivated before the new one was brought in. However, the plants that were taken back to Europe from the new world were rich in nutrients, and this led to increased population growth in the old world. Out of the three groups that suffered from the exchanges that occurred between the old world and the new world, Native Americans and Africans were on the receiving end as they faced a lot of negative effects at a time when Europe gained the most. 

This exchange affected the life of the American citizens in many ways. First, the introduction of new technology and ideas was a boost to the population because technology and innovation improve the economy and leads to better living standards. For example, people could get better jobs due to the introduction of the technology. This also led to the creation of more jobs. The expansion of trade was also witnessed as a result of exchanges between the old world and the new world. The enhanced trade also led to improvement in the lives of the citizens of America who could access a variety of goods both local and those imported from Europe. This further boosted the level of economic growth. The problem to the American citizens was on the introduction of deadly diseases which they had not developed immunity against. This led to the killing of many people leading to a shortage of labor and thus weakening economic growth. Reduced economic growth leads to low living standards for the citizens. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the interaction between the new world and the old world was one of the most critical events that took place as a global event. It had both positive and negative impacts on various groups that were involved. The Europeans seemed to be the primary beneficiaries of the whole event given that they gained several things from interactions with the new world. On the receiving end were Native Americans who suffered massive loss and devastation following the many lives that were lost from the new diseases that originated in the old world. The many lives that were lost made America to undergo labor shortage thus affecting the economy negatively. Africans were also affected negatively by the exchanges due to the introduction of the slave trade. They became the primary target of slaves who were transported to America to go and provide labor. 

References 

Boivin, N., Fuller, D. Q., & Crowther, A. (2012). Old World globalization and the Columbian exchange: comparison and contrast.  World Archaeology ,  44 (3), 452-469. 

Harper, K. N., Zuckerman, M. K., Harper, M. L., Kingston, J. D., &Armelagos, G. J. (2011). The origin and antiquity of syphilis revisited: An Appraisal of Old World pre‐Columbian evidence for treponemal infection.  American journal of physical anthropology ,  146 (S53), 99-133. 

Zohary, D., Hopf, M., & Weiss, E. (2012).  Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin . Oxford University Press on Demand.