The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492

Super Short Summary

Alfred W. Crosby's The Columbian Exchange investigates the long-term biological and cultural impacts arising from the contact between the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, initiated in 1492. Human beings, both intentionally and unintentionally, transformed global ecosystems through the exchange of plants, animals, human populations, and diseases, leading to significant ecological and societal changes. The book examines the drastic and often destructive consequences of these exchanges, which led to the deaths of many Indigenous people due to new diseases and the introduction of European crops and animals that permanently altered the landscapes and societies of the Americas.