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Maize in the Columbian Exchange
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Maize in the Columbian Exchange
Origins of Maize
Maize, a Mesoamerican crop, is said to be originated in Central America (more specifically Southern Mexico) dating back to nearly 10,000 years ago. The crop is most likely cultivated from wild grass by Native Americans. It was then spread thoughout the North and South America.
Origins
How did maize spread?
A little after the Spanish discovered the crop, they sent it to Spain. Soon after that, other European countries would acquire maize as well as Italy, Southern and Western Africa, and finally arriving to East Asia.
Spreading Maize
Dates it spread
Map
- Spread to Spain in 1493
- spread to the rest of Europe and Italy around 1500
- Spread to Africa around 1500
- Spread to East Asia (more importantly, China) around the mid 1500s
Other nearby areas traded for maize.
Maize was very profitable because it was able to grow in a variety of areas. Farmers were able to produce a lot of maize. Many people would add the nutritional crop to their diets and farmers would also add it to their animals' diets. Mass amounts of maize was also traded with other countries and Southern African countries relied heavily on it as a food source.
Profitability
A substantial amount of forced labor was present during the production of maize due to the high demand of maize trade in various places. The Spanish colonies forced Native American and African slaves to grow the crop. The lands that recieved maize through trading would most often use voluntary labor or even grew the crop themselves.
Labor Practices
Maize In Different Cultures
Cultural Impacts Of Maize In Africa
As maize was grown in Africa, the African population started growing. Unfortunately, this increased the amount of slaves avalible for the slave trade which then grew the slave trade as well. More colonies would have a larger amount of slaves for forced labor,
Maize in Africa
Maize And Europeans
Europeans and maize
As maize was able to grow in a large amount and was high in nutritional value, many Europeans added it to their diets and has been a major food source since. Most Europeans now had access to better food with more nutrition so their life spans were growing. Their livestock were also experiencing longer lives due to the intake of this crop.
- As people in China started cultivating maize, the soil started weakening and caused many floods which made it a challenge to farm rice.
- Many forests were burned down in the New World as many Europeans started growing maize. This harmed the surrounding plants and animals.
- Soil quality decreased as maize was being planted in Africa because it is such a nutrient rich crop which made it tougher to grow crops other than maize in the same areas
Environmental Impacts
Causes/Effects Of The Columbian Exchange
Causes of the Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was introduced due to European exploration as they tried to find a new route to India, surveyed the New World, finding many new things such as animals, plants, foods, diseases, and new ideas which would be spread across the world.
Causes
Effects of the Columbian Exchange on the Old World
More resources were going to the Old world such as different foods, treasures, ideas, and more. The population exploded from the large amount of foods and other resources and led to overpopulation. Because of this, many people were sent to the colonies in the New World.
Effects on the Old World
Effects of the Columbian Exchange on the New World
The Old World brought diseases to the New World such as smallpox, whooping cough, and measles. This greatly affected the Native Americans because they have very little immunity towards these foreign diseases. As more people came from the Old World to the New World, more farming and mining had to be done so they brought more enslaved Africans to the Americas.
Effects on the New World
Websites/Sources Used
https://youtu.be/i6teBcfKpik
https://youtu.be/HQPA5oNpfM4
https://youtu.be/pLijVYVDKlc
https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/dd6d47c0-0d92-0135-23f6-0050569601ca-1#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&r=0&xywh=1036%2C-98%2C1406%2C985