The Columbian Exchange: Crash Course World History #23

Summary

In this Crash Course World History episode, John Green explores the profound impact of the Columbian Exchange, a pivotal event that reshaped global ecosystems and human populations post-1492. Green discusses the exchange's four main categories: diseases, animals, plants, and people, highlighting the devastating effects of Old World diseases on Native American populations and the transformative introduction of New World crops to Eurasia. The episode also touches on the cultural and environmental consequences of this historical turning point, prompting viewers to consider the trade-offs between global interconnectedness and biodiversity loss.

Takeaways

• 🌏 The Columbian Exchange fundamentally altered the world's biological landscape, leading to a homogenization of plant and animal species globally.
• 📚 Alfred Crosby Jr.'s book 'The Columbian Exchange' emphasizes the importance of asking big questions in history and the impact of Columbus on world history.
• 🤒 Diseases like smallpox, measles, and mumps had a devastating effect on the Native American population, with death rates potentially exceeding 90%.
• 🐗 The introduction of animals such as pigs, cows, and horses to the Americas revolutionized food supply and transportation, contributing to a reduction in famine.
• 🚫 The transmission of diseases was largely one-way, from the Old World to the New, with syphilis being a notable exception.
• 🚬 Tobacco, introduced to the Old World, had destructive effects, contributing to health issues and death, especially in the form of cigarettes.
• 🐴 The introduction of the horse to the Americas allowed for significant cultural shifts, including the adoption of a nomadic lifestyle by some Native American tribes.
• 🌽 New World crops like corn, potatoes, and tomatoes had a profound impact on Eurasian diets and contributed to a significant population increase.
• 🌾 The ability of New World crops to grow in less fertile soils was a key factor in their widespread adoption and the resulting population growth.
• 🌍 The Columbian Exchange led to a more genetically and ethnically interconnected world but also to the horrors of Atlantic slavery.
• 💭 Crosby's view on the Columbian Exchange is mixed, recognizing its role in population growth and cultural exchange but also its contribution to a diminished biodiversity and environmental harm.

Q & A

Who is the author of 'The Columbian Exchange' mentioned in the script?

The author of 'The Columbian Exchange' is Alfred W. Crosby Jr.

What was the impact of the Columbian Exchange on the world's biological landscape?

The Columbian Exchange irrevocably homogenized the world's biological landscape, leading to a continual diminishment in the number of plant and animal species and a dramatic reduction in species variation from place to place.

How did the Columbian Exchange affect the populations of animals and humans?

The Columbian Exchange remade the populations of animals, particularly humans, by introducing new species and causing the extinction of others. It also led to significant population decreases among Native Americans due to diseases brought by Europeans.

Which disease is often considered the main culprit in the population decline of Native Americans after European contact?

Smallpox is often considered the main culprit in the population decline of Native Americans, but it is more likely that a combination of diseases, including measles, mumps, typhus, and chickenpox, contributed to the devastation.

What was the secondary effect of diseases on the Native American populations after European contact?

The secondary effects of diseases included the triggering of wars due to the death of leaders, leading to further spread of disease, and widespread starvation due to a lack of people to grow crops.

What gift did the Americas give to Europe that had a significant impact?

The Americas gave venereal syphilis to Europe, which appeared around 1493 and spread widely among sailors and the population.

What role did animals play in the Columbian Exchange?

Animals like pigs, cows, and horses, which were introduced to the Americas, revolutionized the food supply, transportation, and agricultural practices, leading to a more stable and abundant food source and a change in the nature of work.

How did New World plants affect the lives of people in Eurasia and Africa?

New World plants, such as tomatoes, chilies, corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, led to a significant increase in caloric intake, which in turn led to population growth and changes in dietary habits and agricultural practices.

What was the role of tobacco in the Columbian Exchange and its impact on Europe?

Tobacco, introduced to Europe from the Americas, became a widely traded and consumed product, but it also had devastating health effects, contributing to the death of many people, including famous historical figures.

What was the demographic impact of the Columbian Exchange on the world's population?

The Columbian Exchange led to a significant decrease in the Native American population due to diseases but also contributed to a worldwide population increase due to the introduction of New World crops that provided more calories and allowed for more efficient farming practices.

What is the author's perspective on the overall impact of the Columbian Exchange?

The author, referencing Crosby, suggests that while the Columbian Exchange led to longer, healthier lives for more humans, it also resulted in a diminished diversity of life on Earth and an impoverished genetic pool, questioning whether the benefits are worth the environmental and biological costs.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 The Columbian Exchange: A World Transformed

John Green introduces the concept of the Columbian Exchange, a pivotal historical event that unified the world's biological landscape post-1492. He discusses the book 'The Columbian Exchange' by Alfred Crosby Jr., emphasizing the significant impact of Columbus's voyage on global biodiversity and human populations. The video outlines the four main categories of the exchange: diseases, animals, plants, and people. Green highlights the devastating effects of diseases like smallpox on the native populations of the Americas, leading to a drastic population decline and facilitating European conquest. The summary also touches on the irony of syphilis, a disease that spread from the Americas to Europe.

05:03

🚀 The Impact of Animals and Tobacco on the New World

This paragraph delves into the transformative effects of animal introductions and tobacco in the Americas. Domesticated animals like pigs, cows, and horses revolutionized the food supply and labor in the New World, contributing to a more stable and abundant lifestyle. Pigs, in particular, are highlighted for their rapid reproduction and adaptability. Green also humorously addresses the negative impact of tobacco, drawing a connection to its deadly legacy through a personal anecdote and a startling statistic about its impact on American servicemen during WWII. The segment ends with a satirical open letter to tobacco, followed by Green's reluctant participation in the cinnamon challenge as a metaphor for the folly of smoking.

10:03

🌱 The Global Influence of New World Plants

Green discusses the profound influence of New World plants on global diets and populations. He explains how crops like corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, which were previously unknown in the Old World, became dietary staples, contributing to a significant increase in the world's population. The introduction of these crops allowed for cultivation in less fertile soils and supported larger populations. The paragraph also touches on the cultural impact of these foods, such as the transformation of Italian cuisine with the addition of tomatoes and the adoption of sweet potatoes in China and Japan. Green emphasizes the environmental and biodiversity costs of the Columbian Exchange, leading to a debate on whether the benefits of increased human life and health are worth the ecological sacrifices.

🌐 The Legacy of the Columbian Exchange: A Mixed Bag

The final paragraph reflects on the complex legacy of the Columbian Exchange. Green summarizes the devastating effects on the native populations of the Americas and the introduction of African slavery, while also acknowledging the improvements in the lives of some Native Americans and the global population increase. He cites Crosby's view that the exchange has led to an overall impoverishment of the Earth's genetic pool and poses a question to the audience about the value of longer, healthier human lives against the backdrop of a diminished biosphere. The segment concludes with a call to action for viewers to consider how their conclusions about the Columbian Exchange might influence their lifestyle choices.

Keywords

💡Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange refers to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries, following Christopher Columbus's voyage. In the video, it is the central theme, illustrating how this exchange irrevocably altered the world's biological landscape and human populations, leading to both positive and negative outcomes.

💡Homogenization

Homogenization, in the context of the video, describes the process by which the diversity of plant and animal species was reduced as a result of the Columbian Exchange. It emphasizes how the mixing of species from different continents led to a more uniform global ecosystem, as exemplified by the decline in the number and variety of species unique to specific regions.

💡Smallpox

Smallpox is a contagious and often deadly disease that had a devastating impact on the indigenous populations of the Americas following the arrival of Europeans. The video highlights smallpox as a primary example of how diseases brought by the Europeans caused significant mortality among Native Americans, contributing to the population decline and the reshaping of the New World.

💡Tobacco

Tobacco is a plant native to the Americas that was introduced to Europe through the Columbian Exchange and subsequently became a globally traded commodity. The video script mentions tobacco as a 'gift' from the New World to the Old World, which, despite its initial popularity, has been linked to numerous health issues, illustrating the double-edged nature of the exchange.

💡Venereal syphilis

Venereal syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that the video suggests was brought back to Europe by sailors who had visited the Americas. It serves as an example of how the exchange of diseases was not one-sided, with syphilis becoming widespread in Europe and affecting many notable historical figures.

💡Animals

The term 'animals' in the script refers to both domesticated and wild species that were exchanged between the Old and New Worlds. The video explains how the introduction of animals like pigs, cows, and horses to the Americas revolutionized food supplies and transportation, while llamas and guinea pigs did not have the same impact in Eurasia.

💡Plants

Plants, such as tomatoes, potatoes, and corn, are highlighted in the video as critical components of the Columbian Exchange. These New World plants had a profound impact on global diets and agricultural practices, contributing to population growth and cultural shifts in the Old World.

💡Diseases

Diseases, particularly those from the Old World, had a profound impact on the indigenous populations of the Americas. The video emphasizes the role of diseases like smallpox, measles, and mumps in drastically reducing the native populations, which in turn affected social structures and the balance of power.

💡Population Increase

The video discusses the 'population increase' as a result of the introduction of New World crops to the Old World. These crops, being more caloric, supported larger populations and contributed to a significant rise in the global population between 1650 and 1850.

💡Genetic Pool

The 'genetic pool' refers to the total genetic variation within a species or population. The video suggests that the Columbian Exchange, while leading to a more interconnected human population, also resulted in a reduction of genetic diversity, which can have long-term implications for the resilience and adaptability of species.

💡Globalism

Globalism is the process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries. The video raises the question of whether the legacy of globalism initiated by the Columbian Exchange, with its mix of positive and negative outcomes, should be continued and deepened, reflecting on the balance between global interconnectedness and local diversity.

💡Monoculture

Monoculture refers to the practice of growing a single crop or species over a large area, often at the expense of biodiversity. The video implies that the Columbian Exchange contributed to the spread of monoculture, which, while it may increase efficiency and yield, can also lead to environmental degradation and reduced resilience in the face of pests or disease.

Highlights

The Columbian Exchange irrevocably homogenized the world's biological landscape, leading to a decrease in plant and animal species diversity.

Before 1492, world history was comprised of separate regional histories rather than a unified global history.

The Columbian Exchange led to a significant reduction in the number of plant and animal species and a dramatic decrease in species variation across different regions.

European visitors to the Americas introduced species like horses, which had never been seen by Native Americans, and vice versa.

The cross-pollination of species through the Columbian Exchange reshaped human populations and made contemporary pizza possible.

The Columbian Exchange can be categorized into four main areas: diseases, animals, plants, and people.

Diseases like smallpox, measles, and mumps had a devastating impact on Native American populations, with death rates potentially exceeding 90%.

The deaths of Aztec and Incan rulers due to European diseases led to wars and power struggles, facilitating the spread of diseases.

Starvation was a secondary effect of the diseases brought by Europeans, as the population decrease left insufficient people to grow food.

While diseases were primarily transmitted from the Old World to the New, syphilis was a disease that spread from the Americas to Europe.

Tobacco, introduced from the Americas, had a destructive impact on the Old World, contributing to health issues and deaths.

Animals such as pigs, cows, and horses revolutionized the food supply and work culture in the Americas, with pigs breeding rapidly and becoming a significant food source.

The introduction of horses to the Americas allowed many Native Americans to adopt a nomadic lifestyle, hunting buffalo more efficiently than farming.

New World plants like tomatoes, chilies, corn, potatoes, and cassava had a profound impact on the diets and lives of people in Eurasia and Africa.

The introduction of New World crops led to a significant increase in the global population due to their high caloric content and adaptability to various soils.

The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of people, including the forced migration of Africans to the Americas, leading to the re-population of the New World and increased genetic and ethnic interconnectedness.

Alfred Crosby Jr.'s view on the Columbian Exchange suggests that while it led to longer, healthier lives for more people, it also resulted in a more impoverished genetic pool and environmental damage.

The Columbian Exchange's legacy includes the question of whether the benefits of increased population and improved lives outweigh the loss of biodiversity and environmental impact.

Transcripts

Hi. I’m John Green, this is Crash Course World History and today's video is kind of

a response to one of the most riveting history books you'll ever read, the Columbian Exchange

by David Crosby. He had a good year in 1969-- published The Columbian Exchange, played Woodstock,

he was still on his first liver. What? It was Albert Crosby? Gash! History, never being

as interesting as I want it to be.

Right, so it was Alfred Crosby Jr., and in that book he wrote, "The big questions are

really the only ones worth considering, and colossal nerve has always been a prerequisite

for such consideration." I love it!

Before 1492, we couldn't really talk about a world history at all, we could only talk

about the different histories of separate regions, but Columbus changed all of that,

and everything else. The Columbian Exchange irrevocably homogenized the world's biological

landscape. Since Columbus, the number of plant and animal species has continually diminished,

and the variation in species from place to place has diminished dramatically. I mean,

the first European visitors to the Americas had never seen a tomato or a catfish; Native

Americans had never seen a horse, and by making our planet biologically singular, the Columbian

Exchange completely remade the populations of animals, particularly humans. And vitally,

this cross-pollination also made possible such wonders as contemporary pizza.

[theme music]

So we're going to break the Columbian Exchange down into four categories: Diseases, boy,

you're looking good Smallpox, I'm glad you've been eliminated; Animals, Plants, and People.

Mr. Green, Mr. Green! People are animals.

Yeah, that's true, me from the past, but just for the sake of simplicity we're--

Also, when you think about it, microbes are kinda animals and plants are, too, I mean--

Oh my god, shut up before I kill you and create a time travel paradox.

Microbes, like those hairy blokes back there, were a definite negative in terms of the Columbian

Exchange. Terminology is hard here, but the majority of Caribbean Islanders or Native

Americans or Amerindians had exactly one response to the arrival of Europeans: death.

We can't be sure of how many natives died as a result of European arrival but it was

definitely more than 50% and some estimates place it as high as 90%. Historians used to

blame European brutality, which was definitely a factor, but the main culprit was disease.

Smallpox is usually seen as the villain of the story but it is more likely that a series

of diseases in combination did the damage. Along with smallpox, Americans were killed

by measles and mumps, typhus, chicken pox, none of which they had been previously exposed

to. This astonishing decrease of population was definitely the worst effect of these diseases,

both psychologically and demographically.

But the secondary effects were almost as bad. For one thing the deaths of Aztec and Incan

rulers touched off wars which made it easier to spread disease, because you know, the number

one way to catch smallpox is via hand-to-hand combat. Plus leaders kept dying. Huayna Capac,

the leader of the Incan empire, succumbed to smallpox before Pizarro even arrived. His

death led to a violent succession struggle between his sons which was won by Atahualpa,

who in turn was captured and killed by Pizarro. And without that war, the Inca would have

had a much better chance against the Spaniards, whose numbers were comparatively tiny. A similar

thing happened to the Aztecs. The Moctezuma who eventually lost to Cortés was the nephew

of a much more powerful king who died of smallpox. And the death of that great king encouraged

some of the smaller states in the Aztec empire to rebel, and some of them even fought for the Spaniards.

And another effect of disease was starvation, because there simply weren't enough people

left to grow crops to feed the living. And the malnutrition made survivors that much

more susceptible to disease. In short, it sucked.

The transmission of disease largely went one way, from the Old World to the New, but the

Americans did have one gift for Europe: venereal syphilis. It showed up in Europe around 1493,

and even though Europeans are very fond of ascribing syphilis to each other: Italians

called it the French disease; the French called it the disease of Naples; Poles called it

the German disease; Russians called it the Polish disease. The truth is, venereal syphilis

was spread by sailors who'd returned from the Americas.

In fact, in his book, The Columbian Exchange, Crosby tells it like this: "Sailors, by the

nature of their profession, are men without women and therefore men of many women. We

can imagine no group more perfectly suited for guaranteeing that venereal syphilis would

have worldwide distribution." Who says history books are boring? Syphilis would go on to

infect a veritable who's who of Europe: from Baudelaire to Gauguin to Nietzsche, not to

mention numerous family members of the famously infertile Tudor and Valois families, meaning

that syphilis may be responsible for many of those miserably boring dynastic power struggles

of post-Columbus Europe. Anyway, nothing against syphilis, but it pales in comparison to the

devastation wrought by Old World diseases arriving in the New World.

But the New World did have one gift for the Old World that was pretty destructive: tobacco.

Oh, it's time for the open letter and there's been a costume change? That doesn't bode well.

An Open Letter to Tobacco.

But first let's see what's in the secret compartment don't be cinnamon don't be cinnamon don't

be -- dang it!

I guess that I'm going to do the cinnamon challenge. Oh, I am not happy about this Stan,

for the record -- alright, I'm going to do the cinnamon challenge: one tablespoon of

cinnamon in my mouth, no water.

Huh, boy, that -- that sucked. I, I uh regret r-regret doing that to be honest with you.

Dear Tobacco, I just did something really stupid but at

least it was cheap. I'm gonna tell you two stories about smoking, the first come from

my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer who also writes Crash Course. When I was a

senior in high school he walked up to me and he said, "I want you to keep smoking. I want

you to smoke until the day after your 65th birthday, and then I want you to die so that

I collect all of your social security." That inspired me, Mr. Meyer, to quit smoking just eight short years later.

Here is an amazing statistic: cigarettes were handed out to American servicemen during World

War II and more soldiers who started smoking during the war died from smoking than died from the war.

So if the New World was looking to extract some measure of revenge for smallpox, and

measles, and chicken pox: Mission accomplished.

Best Wishes, John Green

Now onto animals. American animals, like llamas and guinea pigs, never really caught on in

Eurasia. But imports to the Americas, like pigs, cows and horses were revolutionary.

Let's go to the thought bubble:

First of all, these animals, especially pigs, completely remade the food supply. Pigs breed

really quickly, they eat anything and they turn into bacon, which made them heroes to

the new world just as today they are heroes to the internet. Here's how quickly pigs breed:

When Hernando de Soto arrived in Florida in 1539, he brought 13 pigs. By the time of his

death, there were 700 - that was 3 years later. The abundance of meat and plentiful land for

agriculture and grazing meant that Europeans in the Americas very rarely experienced famine,

and despite what you may have learned about religious and political freedom, the main

reason Europeans came to America was to eat.

Large European animals also changed the nature of work in the Americas. Before Europeans,

the largest beast of burden was the llama, and at best it could carry like, 100 lbs.

This meant that for the long distance travel that the Inca engaged in, the primary transportation

animal was Incas. Oxen, when combined with their plows, made it possible to bring more

land under cultivation and also made transportation easier and more efficient, and plus European

animals remade culture.

The grossly stereotypical American Indian, like from the movies, riding the Great Plains

with an eagle feather headdress and war paint, well he didn't exist before the Columbian

Exchange because there were no horses for him to ride. And the introduction of horses

allowed many Native Americans to abandon agriculture in favor of a nomadic lifestyle because riding

around hunting buffalo made them far richer than farming ever had. Thanks Thought Bubble.

While animals and diseases completely reshaped the New World, it was New World plants that

had the biggest effect on Eurasia.

Sure, Europeans brought over some crops that we now grow here in the Americas like wheat

and grapes, both of which are necessary for Catholic mass, but New World plants radically

changed the lives of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of Africans, Asians and Europeans,

specifically by making pizza possible.

[Heavenly singing, "It was the greatest gift of all."]

I mean until 500 years ago Italians lived without tomatoes, without modern pizza or

marinara sauce or pizza or ketchup or pizza or even pizza. Indians lived without curry,

which contains chilies, a New World food. Persians lived without corn, which is a New

World food, as are beans and potatoes and avocados and peanuts and blueberries - the

list goes on and on.

And these New World crops led to probably the greatest population increase in history.

To quote Crosby, "It is crudely true that if man's caloric intake is sufficient, he

will somehow stagger to maturity, and he will reproduce."

And New World food was far more caloric than Old World food, which is the central reason

that the world population doubled between 1650 and 1850. Plants like corn and potatoes

could grow in soils that were useless for Old World crops. Potatoes were actually introduced

to Europe as an aphrodisiac, but it turns out that you have to distill those potatoes

into vodka before they have the desired effect. Anyway, if potatoes are an aphrodisiac, the

Irish quickly became the hottest people on Earth.

An acre and a half of potato cultivation could feed an Irish family for a year, and the average

Irish worker often ate 10 lbs. of potatoes every day. Surviving primarily on potatoes,

the Irish more than doubled their population between 1754 and 1845, when the Potato Famine

showed up and ruined everything.

And it wasn't just Europe. Manioc, or cassava is a New World plant with roots that provide

more calories than any other plant on Earth, provided they are properly processed (otherwise

they're poisonous). Manioc is so prevalent in Africa that many Africans swear that the

plant is native to the continent, but it isn't.

Nor are sweet potatoes, and while New World grains never replaced rice in Southeast, or

East Asia, the sweet potato was so common that it is known as the "poor person’s staple"

in China. Even in Japan, the tomb of the farmer who is reputed to have first brought them

to the islands is known as the Temple of the Sweet Potato. And it's also worth noting that

corn, while it may not feature prominently in European diets, has been the central source

of food for animals in Europe for centuries.

And in fact, that's still the case. In 2005, 58% of the corn grown in America went to animal

feed (is the kind of thing you learn when you live in Indiana).

Alright, so last but not least, the Columbian exchange involved the transfer of lots of

people. Again, in the early stages this movement was mostly one way, with Europeans and Africans

- the Africans usually against their will - making their way to the Americas.

So the Columbian Exchange led to the re-population of the New World following the disease devastation

of the initial encounter. And better nutrition allowed the population of the Old World to

grow which in turn placed population pressure on Eurasia which led to more people coming

to the Americas. In the process, the world's human inhabitants became more genetically

and ethnically interconnected. But it also led to the horrors of Atlantic slavery, which

we'll be discussing next week.

What are we to make of the Columbian Exchange? It devastated the population of the Americas,

it led to the widespread slavery of Africans, but it also allowed for a worldwide population

increase and the lives of some Natives including Plains tribes like the Lakota became better

and more secure, at least for a while.

Fewer people have starved since the Columbian Exchange began, but the diversity of life on

Earth has diminished dramatically and planting crops where they don't belong has hurt the environment.

So on the whole, should we be grateful for the Columbian Exchange? And should we work

to continue and deepen its legacy of globalism and monoculture?

Crosby didn't think we were better off. "The Columbian Exchange has included man, and he

has changed the Old and New Worlds sometimes inadvertently, sometimes intentionally, often

brutally. It is possible that he and the plants and animals he brings with him have caused

the extinction of more species of life forms in the last four hundred years than the usual

processes of evolution might kill off in a million... The Columbian Exchange has left

us with not a richer but a more impoverished genetic pool. We, all of the life on the planet,

are the less for Columbus, and the impoverishment will increase."

But let's give you the last word today: Do you agree with Crosby? Are longer, healthier

lives for more humans worth the sacrifice of an impoverished biosphere? And most importantly,

how will your conclusions about those questions shape the way that you live your life?

Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week.

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson.

The show is written by my high school history teacher, Raoul Meyer, and myself, and our

graphics team is Thought Bubble.

Last week’s phrase of the week was "Mario and Luigi,” thanks for that suggestion.

If you want to suggest future phrases of the week you can do so in comments or you can

also guess at this week’s phrase of the week, and ask questions about today's video

that will be answered by our team of historians. Thanks for watching Crash Course, and as we

say in my hometown, Don't Forget To Be Awesome.