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Maize in the Columbian Exchange
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Maize in the Colombian Exchange
By Sarah Wages and Danielle
Where did maize originate?
Maize originated out of Mesopotamia, or present day Mexico, and spread to North and South America.
When was maize spread in the Columbian Exchange?
Since maize originated in the West, it was considered a New World food. It was not spread to the East until Columbus discovered it in 1492 and sent it to the Old World through the Columbian Exchange.
Where did it spread to?
Maize, along with other New World crops, were carried by Portuguese ships to China where it was cultivated in fields that were unsuitable for rice farming. Maize also spread to countries in Africa like Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia.
How profitable was maize in the trade?
Maize was one of the first cash crops in the Columbian Exchange. It had a large impact on Europe, Africa, and China when it was introduced. As a result, the Europeans who discovered the New World benefited economically, and received large amounts of profit.
How maize spread:
How did maize impact New World, Old World, and other cultures?
Impact on New World:
While the trade and expansion of maize was beneficial to the New World's economy and food supply, it was also damaging to the land. The Europeans who came to the New World began starting forest fires to create new land for maize cultivation. This was damaging to native people, plants, and animals.
New World
Old World
When maize was brought to Europe from the New World, it resulted in many benefits, such as new nutritional values and economical growth because it is an easy crop to grow. Maize helped spur the Industrial Revolution by providing a nutritious food source for a growing population needed to work in factories.
China
Maize was brought to China on Portuguese ships. China was very successful in rice farming, but there were large amounts of land that was too wet for rice. The soil was ideal for maize cultivation. The cultivation of maize in China resulted in population growth and economic benefits.
Africa
After maize was introduced to Europe, it slowly made its way to Africa aboard ships in the slave trade around 1500 AD. After spread throughout Africa over a period of 500 years, it became Africa's most important cereal crop.
Africa
How did this impact labor practices?
The cultivation of maize was through unfree labor. Unfree labor is more commonly known as slave labor. Cotton, sugar cane, and tobacco were more typically cultivated, but occasionally some farms would use unfree labor to produce maize.
Sources
nps.gov/dewa/learn/nature/upload/cmsstgCORN.pdf
campsilos.org/mod3/students/c_history.shtml
khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project/expansion-interconnection/othermaterials8/a/the-columbian-exchange
human.libretexts.org/fromthenewworldtotheold:The-Expansion-of-crops
sotori.com/story/the-colombian-exchange-vzrrfJGkBQg5fiWmHJBq5JJP
slideplayer.com/slide/12109981
britannica.com/plant/corn-plant
digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3041
https://sites.google.com/site/spsgmwh9ce/corn
pubs.aweaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.24.2.163