was the columbian exchange good or bad essay

Positive and Negative Effects of Columbian Exchange

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The Columbian Exchange was a time of economic, biological, and cultural exchange between the Eastern and Western hemispheres that began after Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas in 1492. It is named after the explorer Christopher Columbus and was initiated by his exploration of the Americas. This exchange profoundly affected both sides of the Atlantic, introducing new crops, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds. Crops, animals, and conditions that originated in the Americas had a tremendous impact on the world, including potatoes, tomatoes, maize, horses, and diseases such as smallpox and measles. On the other hand, crops and animals from the Old World, such as wheat, sugar cane, and cattle, significantly affected the Americas. As much as the Columbian exchange positively impacted the world, it also had its setbacks.

Positive Impact of Columbian Exchange

The positive impacts of the Columbian Exchange were numerous. It allowed the spread of food crops worldwide, leading to increased food production and better nutrition for many people. New crops such as maize, tomatoes, potatoes, and chili peppers were introduced to the Old World, while wheat, barley, and other grains were introduced to the New World. This allowed for great agricultural diversity and a more varied diet for all. With the introduction of different crops from the New World, Europeans began to have access to a much more diverse and nutrient-rich diet. This helped to improve nutrition and reduce the risk of malnutrition and disease (Cook, 2015). Also, exchanging new crops, livestock, and ideas allowed for the development of new and more efficient economic systems.

In addition, the Columbian Exchange allowed for the transfer of animals and technology. Horses, cattle, and other animals were introduced to the New World, while new technologies such as metalworking and gunpowder were introduced to the Old World (Cook, 2015). This helped to create a more advanced and interconnected global economy. The Columbian Exchange also had a major influence on global trade. Goods and commodities such as gold, silver, and spices were exchanged between the two worlds, leading to a large increase in trade (Cook, 2015). This allowed for the creation of global trading networks and commerce growth. The Columbian Exchange also led to a more diverse cultural landscape. People from different parts of the world were exposed to different cultures and beliefs, leading to a more open and tolerant global society (McNeill, 2022).

Negative Impacts of Columbian Exchange

The most devastating result of the Columbian Exchange was the spread of diseases. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Americas were home to many unique, endemic diseases. When Europeans arrived, they brought a host of new diseases with them, such as smallpox, typhus, and measles, to which the populations of the Americas had no immunity. These diseases decimated native populations, who had no natural immunity to them (Rosenwald, 2019). Native American societies were also weakened by the introduction of European weapons and the displacement of native populations to make way for European colonists.

The introduction of European livestock and plants had a profound effect on the environment of the Americas. European livestock, such as horses, cows, and pigs, quickly spread across the continent, displacing native animals and destroying their habitats. In particular, the introduction of domesticated animals drastically affected the food supply of local populations, as they often over-grazed the land and destroyed natural habitats. In addition, many of the plants introduced by Europeans, such as corn, potatoes, and wheat, quickly became staples of the diets of many native peoples (Matthew, 2019). However, these crops were far more efficient than traditional crops and resulted in the displacement of native plants.

The Columbian Exchange also had a major economic impact, as it allowed European powers to exploit the resources of the Americas. Furthermore, this exploitation included the enslavement of native populations and the extraction of gold, silver, and other resources for export to Europe (McNeill, 2022). This economic exploitation created a system of inequality and poverty that persists until today in many parts of the Americas.

Overall, the Columbian Exchange profoundly affected the cultures and societies of the Americas, both positively and negatively. The exchange allowed for the transfer of goods and ideas spread of new crops, animals, and technologies, which led to increased food production, better nutrition, and a more advanced global economy. It also increased global trade, leading to the growth of commercial and cultural networks worldwide. However, although the exchange had positive outcomes, it also caused the destruction of native populations and the exploitation of resources. These negative impacts continue to be felt today and should not be forgotten when discussing the Columbian Exchange.

• Cook, N. D. (2015). The Cambridge world history: The Columbian Exchange (Chapter 5) from part two – trade, exchange, and production , 103-134. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139022460.006
• Matthew, W. (2019, October 14). The Columbian Exchange should be called the Columbian Extraction. JSTOR Daily . https://daily.jstor.org/columbian-exchange-columbian-extraction/
• McNeill, J. (2022, August 25).  Columbian Exchange .  Encyclopedia Britannica . https://www.britannica.com/event/Columbian-exchange
• Rosenwald, M. S. (2019, May 6). Columbus brought measles to the New World. It was a disaster for Native Americans. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/05/05/columbus-brought-measles-new-world-it-was-disaster-native-americans/

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This essay will discuss the positive effects of the Columbian Exchange, the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World post-1492. It will explore how the exchange led to significant agricultural and culinary advancements, the introduction of valuable crops, and the enhancement of global trade. The piece will also consider the cultural and demographic changes that resulted from the exchange, highlighting its role in shaping the modern world. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Agriculture.

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The Columbian exchange can be perceived as two different ways, one way is that is was overall a negative event for the New World. The other is that it was overall a positive event for the New World. The Columbian exchange was overall a positive event for the New World because it impacted the new world, the old world, and the Spanish conquest of the new world all in positive ways.

Secondly, the Old World was also impacted positively by the interaction of trading and giving when Christopher Columbus first came to the New World. The Spaniards started to bring back the items and resources they were given in order to start growing the crops and reproducing the livestock in the Old World. The Spaniards started to bring the crops to the Old World and after growing the crops they realized that all of the crops the Native Americans have given them (beans, corn, manioc, and potatoes) grew really well in the New World, this was because the soil was better for the new seeds from the New World. This caused people in the Old World to start wanting to travel to the New World.

Finally, the Columbian exchange also positively impacted the Spanish Conquest of the New World. This can be seen through the transfer of disease from the Old World to the New World, the transfer caused many powerful defenses/armies to die due to the fact that the New World had never experienced these types of diseases and they had never built an immunity to it, whereas the Old World had built an immunity to these diseases because they have suffered through them for centuries. Most Old World people had built up a natural immunity to some or even all diseases. These diseases are chickenpox, malaria, measles, pneumonia, scarlet fever, smallpox, and typhus. Due to the disease spreading to the New World thirty to ninety percent of all Native Americans died from those diseases. The diseases also affected the Aztecs of Mexico and the Inca of Peru. The Spanish could have been wiped out completely because their empire was outnumbered but for the positive convenience of the disease spread, it killed off and weakened most of the New World empires trying to beat the Spanish. After the conquest however, the population started to increase even more many of the Native American women had children from the New World. The Spanish also brought religion to the New World. They brought Catholicism because they were Catholic. They showed them how to also “do” Holy Communion in the New World.

In conclusion, the examples above clearly show how the Columbian exchange completely change the way the New World worked for good. People of both worlds found that the world was actually much larger than imagined ever before. The Columbian Exchange permanently transformed the world and no other event has also had such a widespread and effect on humankind and life that the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian exchange was perceived as two different ways, one way was that it was overall a negative event for the New World. The other is that it was overall a positive event for the New World. The Columbian exchange WAS in fact overall a positive event for the New World because it impacted the new world, the old world, and the Spanish conquest of the new world all in positive ways.

Works Cited

• European Voyages of Discovery 1500-1800 Worksheet.
• The Columbian Exchange notes (classwork).
• DBQ FOCUS: Columbian Exchange packet.

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Negative Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange that occurred in the Western Hemisphere subjected America to extensive changes that would fundamentally change the people that lived there, the people that would come to live there, and the land itself. In fact, the America that we know today has been shaped by the events that took place hundreds of years ago during the Columbian Exchange. As European people brought their culture and values to the Americas, it started to combine and mix with the cultures and values already established there, changing both Europeans and Indians in admittedly small, but significant ways. While this can be considered a positive point of the Columbian Exchange, in its entirety, the Columbian Exchange could be considered a disaster, especially for the natives that lived in America before the Europeans came to claim it. Not only did Indians suffer at the hands of European diseases that we completely foreign to them, killing off millions and changing the Indian demographic forever, but the world that they grew to be so familiar with changed around them.

Imagine being in a ship, under the deck, with no way to get out. The ship reeks of feces and sickness. You can only move a short way to go to the bathroom, the bathroom being a bucket. Wouldn’t you also give up on life altogether? This was the fate of every slave on the slave trade ships. Many tried to stop eating and stop living, but were whipped for doing so. It was a disgusting scene that caused so many deaths and a lot of darkness. This was a part of the Columbian exchange. If it weren’t for this exchange then the slave trade wouldn’t have started and become so huge.The Columbian exchange is detrimental because diseases spread quickly, the slave trade started, and many people died due to it.

Social Impact Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange, derived from the voyages of Columbus to the Americas, was a chapter in history that connected the Old World to the New World by exchanging crops, culture, and technology. The Columbian Exchange in the Western Hemisphere resulted in extensive demographic, social, economic, and environmental changes. The arrival of Europeans to Native American land produced an intense mixture of culture and population fluctuation. Not only did this exchange affect the social aspect between the two nations, it changed the way people engaged in trade and proprietary interests, which would lead to a massive destruction and transformation of the environment.

Essay on Positive and Negative Effects of the Columbian Exchange

Although Columbus's revelation of the New World to the Old World caused deadly diseases to both hemispheres, a loss of preservation of native American culture in the New World, and the unhealthy effect of tobacco in the Old World, it made an overall positive impact in lasting terms by the introduction of religion and horses and cattle in the New World and the new agriculture advancements and alpacas. The Eastern-Western hemisphere encounter was obviously positive in the Western hemisphere because of the fact that most of us here would have never been born, but the introduction of religions made a lasting impact. Most Europeans were religious and wanted to share their faith with the natives. Some people also came to escape religious

Columbian Exchange Negative Effects

Although the Columbian Exchange brought many good things to America such as food and transportation, The Columbian Exchange was an Overall Negative event because it killed millions of people because of slavery,war,disease, and overwork.

The Pros And Cons Of The Columbian Exchange

The trade of biological and cultural aspects defines The Columbian Exchange, also called the Great Biological Exchange, for the first time Europeans decided to connect with the Western Hemisphere. This was important because the Europeans actually gained more by taking advantage of the Indians; animals, plants, and diseases, these transactions marked a whole new beginning in the history of America. Two isolated parties explored their differences, and by that, they enriched their biological and cultural lives.

The Columbian Exchange Essay example

The Columbian Exchange is the exchange of plants, animals, food, and diseases between Europe and the Americas. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus came to America, he saw plants and animals he had never seen before so he took them back with him to Europe. Columbus began the trade routes which had never been established between Europe and the Americas so his voyages initiated the interchange of plants between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, which doubled the food crop resources available to people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Positive And Negative Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

Columbian Exchange- The Columbian Exchange was a way exchanging new resources between the new world and the old world. This impacted Europeans and Native Americans positively with the new materials now available, like technology, plants, and animals. There were some negative effects from these exchanges too, such as diseases. Made it easier to interact with other cultures.

Technologies, diseases, religions, and ideas were spread from Europe, Africa, and Asia (the Old World) to the Americas (the New World). Some diseases from the Old World were smallpox, measles, and malaria. A disease from the New World was syphilis. Animals from the Old World were horses, cattle, pigs, cows,

Positive Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

After Columbus made his journey to the New World in 1492, the Europeans brought a different culture to the people of the New World and took many new ideas back to the Old one, this was the time period known as the Columbian Exchange. Most of what the Europeans took from the Exchange was good, but some of what they brought was devastating to the people in the New World. Although, this time period was very brutal for the Native Americans, the Columbian Exchange resulted in the transmitting of new technologies, an increase in remedies and cures for diseases, and a growth in resources such as food that helped to improve life.

Positive Outcomes Of The Columbian Exchange

The exchange between Europe and the New World, also known as the Columbian Exchange, had many positive and negative outcomes. When the Europeans came across the New World, they brought many new discoveries to the people of the New World; some amazing and some disastrous. In reverse, when the Europeans arrived at the New World, the natives (also known as the Indians) had many things that had yet to be discovered by the people of the Old World.

Columbian Exchange Pros And Cons

Corn crops were a staple life force in the early cultures of the natives. This caused the natives to cease their early practices of hunting, gathering and moving from place to place. It helped them transform into a more agricultural society. This crop was high in yield which could sustain a large population, therefore contributing to a growth and stability of their civilizations

Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Columbian Exchange

When you are sitting in a fancy restaurant in Texas, tasting a delicious steak with a nice cup of coffee, do you know that before 1492, American people don’t even know what is beef and coffee. Nowadays, people’s diet is abundant. People in every part of the world can taste the food originated in other side of the world. This is due to one of the most significant ecological events in human history called the Columbian Exchange. According to Nunn Nathan and Qian Nancy, “the Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492” (Nathan and Nancy, 2010). It was so spectacular that has left both positive and negative impacts in each side of the world.

Economic Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange brought diseases in the two countries and was also the forerunner for eliminating Native Americans in North America, but Europe acquired new ways to develop their economy further than what it already was. This discovery was what led to Europe's powers early on in the 1400’s. Europe's discoveries led to the modernization of cultures along with great societies such as the New World, which became the country it is today.

The Columbian Exchange Effects

The New World was surrounded in mystery. The hope of prosperity, a new start, or a chance to solidify a legacy drove thousands to shed the “Old World” they knew. This action of embarking beyond the familiar boundaries and happening upon a land untouched by the rest of the known word was pure chance. In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of Guanahauni and the world would never be the same. The effects of the Columbian Exchange are still evident in today’s geographic landscape.

Related Topics

• Christopher Columbus
• Indigenous peoples of the Americas
• British Empire
• United States

Columbian Exchange Argumentative Essay

Show More “In fourteen hundred ninety-two/Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” (Marzollo)1 That is the famous beginning to the poem “IN 1492” by Jean Marzollo. In 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos Port in Palos de la Frontera, Spain, to San Salvador in the Bahamas. This famous voyage gave the Europeans a route to go to the newly “discovered” land--the Americas . Since then, this route was used for many trades and exchanges which later became known as the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange indeed has had a positive effect on the science and technology for both the Europeans and the Native Americans, due to the new tools introduced to the Native Americans, the medicinal knowledge from plants and herbs obtained by the Europeans, and improved literacy and education of the Native Americans. …show more content… One common explanation is that many Native Americans had died after the Europeans’ arrival, especially from diseases brought over by the Europeans, and the survivors could not possibly care about science and technology innovations. I disagree. The Black Plague in the Fourteenth Century that took place in Europe was first brought by ships traveling back from Asia. If the same argument holds, then one should blame commerce and trade as the cause of the Black Plague. Yet, no one is proposing that trade is bad, and the world is better off without international trade, just to save the Black Plague. Therefore, why would one argue it is best not to have the Columbian Exchange, so new diseases would not have been brought to the American Continent. Besides, benefits of the Columbian Exchange outweigh the unfortunate consequences such as new diseases, especially in improvements in science and technology such as domestication of animals, upgrades in agricultural tools, and exchange of medicinal

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Course: US history   >   Unit 1

• Motivation for European conquest of the New World
• Origins of European exploration in the Americas
• Christopher Columbus
• Consequences of Columbus's voyage on the Tainos and Europe
• Christopher Columbus and motivations for European conquest

The Columbian Exchange

• Environmental and health effects of European contact with the New World
• Lesson summary: The Columbian Exchange
• The impact of contact on the New World
• The Columbian Exchange, Spanish exploration, and conquest
• Mercantilism , an economic theory that rejected free trade and promoted government regulation of the economy for the purpose of enhancing state power, defined the economic policy of European colonizing countries.
• Christopher Columbus introduced horses, sugar plants, and disease to the New World, while facilitating the introduction of New World commodities like sugar, tobacco, chocolate, and potatoes to the Old World.
• The process by which commodities, people, and diseases crossed the Atlantic is known as the Columbian Exchange .

Commerce in the New World

• Colonies rich in raw materials
• Cheap labor
• Colonial loyalty to the home government
• Control of the shipping trade

The Columbian Exchange: goods introduced by Europe, produced in New World

The columbian exchange: from the new world to the old world, the columbian exchange: from the old world to the new world, what do you think, want to join the conversation.

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The Pros And Cons Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange was the trade of goods, culture, ideas, etc between the Old World and the New World. The long-term positive that came about from the Columbian Exchange did not justify the short-term negatives. Cultures were dominated and Indians were mistreated. These two outcomes from the Columbian Exchange could have been avoided if a voyager rather than Columbus had sailed and become allies with the natives. One reason why the positives did not outweigh the negatives were the colonialists strategy of cultural domination. In the UCLA Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume four Issue two it states that natives were forbidden to speak in their native language. They were separated from their families and were placed in boarding schools. (2011) These were both methods of how the colonialist strategy dominator culture because it eradicated any trace of the original society. They also wanted to stop the growth of Native population. …show more content…

Spain forced Natives to carry them on their backs. Many natives were killed as a result of weapon testing. (Bartolome de las Casas) This shows that the Spaniards became cruel and treated others like objects as they gained power. The Columbian exchange brought severe segregation that still lives today and some

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Columbian Exchange Positive Effects

Positive effects of the Columbian Exchange was that it gave Europe and America new resources which in turn expanded their knowledge. The got new foods, animals, and materials they wouldn't otherwise have. The bad thing about the Columbian Exchange was that it spread disease between Europe and

Pros And Cons Of The Columbian Exchange

The intended audience of the article “ The Columbian Exchange- a History of Disease, Food and Ideas” are scholars and students. The article has large amount of statistics provided about the amount of production of certain foods in certain countries, the amount of exchange between the old world and the new world and the top consuming countries for various new world foods. The foods discovered also includes their benefits and harms. 2. The author’s main argument is that the new world has several impacts on the old world which includes many pros and cons.

The Columbian Exchange: Significant Events In The History Of World

The Columbian Exchange impacted almost every civilization in the world bringing fatal diseases that depopulated many cultures. However a wide variety of new crops

Native Americans During The Columbian Exchange

To begin with, the 15th and 16th centuries mark the commencement of European colonization and the integration of American and European culture. Countless Europeans and American Indians were influenced by one another, throughout the Columbian Exchange. Granted, the Native Americans suffered immensely, but there are more importantly numerous significant advantages to be noticed because of European migration. The Columbian Exchange led to the introduction of various products and sources of food, the merging of different groups of people, and transformations in American government and economy. Without the combination of European and American Indian culture, life today would be incredibly less progressive and different.

Attributes Of The Columbian Exchange

There are both negative and positive attributes of The Columbian Exchange. It lasted during the years of expansion and discovery, but shaped the world as we know it today. This transfer had a direct impact on the cultures of North America and Europe, which introduced unfamiliar animals, diseases, and plants. The Columbian Exchange was a significant ecological event that changed the lives of people on both continents. Horses were introduced to the New World by Spanish Conquistadors.

Consequences Of The Columbian Exchange

The benefits did outweigh the consequences. To start off, I have three topics to support/back up my conclusion that the benefits did outweigh the consequences. Next, the Columbian Exchange. The Native Americans gave the Europeans gold and silver. They also gave them corn, potatoes, beans, vanilla, chocolate, tobacco, and cotton.

The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange refers to the monumental transfer of goods such as: ideas, foods, animals, religions, cultures, and even diseases between Afroeurasia and the Americas after Christopher Columbus’ voyage in 1492. The significance of the Columbian Exchange is that it created a lasting tie between the Old and New Worlds that established globalization and reshaped history itself (Garcia, Columbian Exchange). Worlds that had been separated by vast oceans for years began to merge and transform the life on both sides of the Atlantic (The Effects of the Columbian Exchange). This massive exchange of goods gave rise to social, political, and economic developments that dramatically impacted the world (Garcia, Columbian Exchange). During this time,

Positive And Negative Effects On Native Americans Essay

During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, eExplorers from Europe had made vast advancements on traveling methods and shipbuilding and had new methods to travel the world. Due to needs for faster trade routes or access to new markets, most powers, starting with Portugal, had started sending Explorers to find different ways to trade and navigate. This would eventually lead them to the New World where they would meet people of different culture. Explorers during this period have many positive and negative effects on the natives. Europeans indirectly killed off native with diseases, enslaved natives with cruel slave methods, and tried to completely erase the native cultures in place of the typical European cultures and religion.

The Moral Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

Historians differ on what they think about the net result of the European arrival in the New World. Considering that the Columbian Exchange, which refers to “exchange of plants, animals, people, disease, and culture between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas after Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492,” led to possibly tens of millions of deaths on the side of the American Indians, but also enabled agricultural and technological trade (Henretta et al. 42), I cannot help but reflect on whether the effects should be addressed as a historical or a moral question. The impact that European contact had on the indigenous populations of North America should be understood as a moral question because first, treating it as a historical question is difficult due to lack of reliable historical evidence; second, the meaning of compelling historical claims is contestable as the academic historian perspective tends to view the American Indian oral history as invalid; and finally, what happened to the native Indians is morally repulsive and must be discussed as such. The consequences of European contact should be answered as a moral question because historically, it is hard to be historically objective in the absence of valid and dependable historical evidence.

Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Columbian Exchange

One effect of the Columbian Exchange was the indigenous people

How Did The Columbian Exchange Affect Native Americans

However, the Columbian exchange didn’t always benefit both the Native Americans and the Europeans. Diseases were also exchanged, specifically to the Native Americans. Whether the exchanges were positive or negative, the Columbian exchange had a huge global effect, both immediately after the exchange and long-term. The Columbian exchange caused inflation in Europe, change in hunting habits of Native Americans,change in farming habits within Europe, and a large decrease of Native American populations.

Economic And Economic Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

Economic Effects of the Columbian Exchange  Inflation of cash-crops, slavery and silver resulting from the Columbian Exchange caused a drastic effect on the global economy.   Cash-crops forged new trade routes across continents, slavery supported New World exports, and silver caused power shifts in the world 's distribution of wealth.   As Spanish expeditions to the New World increased in size and purpose, the economic effects on the rest of the world spread with equal vigor.   The triangular trade circulated commodities between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.   From Europe some commodities were distributed throughout Asia.

Compare And Contrast The Columbian Exchange Between The New World And The Old World

The Columbian Exchange between the new world and the old world significantly change people’s lives. After 1492, Europeans brought in horses to America which changes the nomadic Native American groups’ living from riding on buffalos to horses. This interchange also change the diet of the rest of the world with foods such as corns (maize), potatoes which are major diet for European nowadays. 
Besides all the animals from old world to the new world, Spanish also brought in the diseases that Native Americans were not immune of, such as smallpox which led to a large amount of Native Americans’ deaths.

Impact Of The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of goods animals and plants from one country to another. The Columbian Exchange had many impacts. Some of them can still be seen today. One example is introduction of new species. Another is the slave trade that happened.

The Columbian Exchange: The New World

The Columbian Exchange was about the New World and old world populations after Christopher Columbus sailed to and discovered America in 1942. It not gains and loss. Had to do with food, diseases, and ideas. Eastern Hemisphere gained from the Columbian Exchange in many ways. Discoveries of new supplies of metals are perhaps the biggest.

More about The Pros And Cons Of The Columbian Exchange

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