Columbian Exchange Essay -- History

On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus departed from Palos, Spain to begin his journey across the Atlantic Ocean. This was the first of many voyages that allowed him to explore a New World where he was able to discover plants, animals, cultures and resources that Europeans had never seen before. The sharing of these resources and combination of the Old and New World has come to be known as the Columbian Exchange. During these explorations, the Europeans brought diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, typhoid and bubonic plague to the New World, wiping out entire Indian populations. There were also many other populations wiped out due to complications that came from this exchange. Were these explorations and the wiping out of entire populations worth the benefits gained by the exchange? The Beginning Christopher Columbus was a famous navigator and explorer who was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus wanted to claim land for Spain so he could be rich and spread religion. He originally set out to find the East Indies for many reasons. One was that he hoped to establish trade routes and colonies in order to gain wealth. Another was that there were now bigger guns that could be strapped on ships so he felt that his voyage had more of a chance of being successful. The main reasons for his exploration was that he wanted to find a western route to Asia to find the riches that Marco Polo talked about in his book. So basically he was not courageous, he was just greedy. He intended on arriving in Japan on his first voyage, but instead, he arrived at the Bahamas archipelago. He ended up making numerous voyages and claiming the lands he visited for the Spanish Empire. Columbus continued voyages creating the first lasting European conta... ...ormation: tourism, travel, culture, language, business, people.  » Blog Archive  » Columbian Exchange." Professional Translation Services | Interpreters | Intercultural Communication & Training. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/colombia/Columbian-Exchange/5062 (accessed April 3, 2012). †¨ †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ Pelletier, Michelle. "The Columbian Exchange and Global Trade - CDA's World History Wiki." Welcome to CDA's World History Wiki Updates - CDA's World History Wiki. http://cdaworldhistory.wikidot.com/the-columbian-exchange-and-global-trade (accessed April 3, 2012). †¨ †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ Qian, Nancy, and Nathan Nunn. "The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas." Journal of Economic Perspectives 24, no. 2 (2010): 163-188. "The First Voyage of Columbus." The Columbus Navigation Homepage. http://www.columbusnavigation.com/v1.shtml (accessed April 3, 2012).