Background: The Columbian Exchange, sometimes known as the Great Exchange, is a term used to describe the massive exchange of agricultural goods, slave labor, diseases, and ideas between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, which occurred after the year It started when Europeans discovered the Americas so they decided to trade their goods for the natural resources of the Native Americans. The Columbian Exchange began in 1492.

As a result of Columbus's voyages to the New World, a biological pipeline between America and Europe opened up that had been apart since before humans appeared on earth. The lands had drifted apart that had once been connected. Some species of plants and animals flourished in both areas, and some did not. There were many new animals and plants in the Americas that Europeans had never seen, and Europeans brought plants and animals to the New World that America had never seen.

Identify what was being traded.

Patterns of Interaction Think about your favorite foods. Chances are that at least one originated in a distant land. Throughout history, the introduction of new foods into a region has dramatically changed lives—for better and worse. Dependence on the potato, for example, led to a famine in Ireland. This prompted a massive migration of Irish people to other countries. In the Americas, the introduction of sugar led to riches for some and enslavement for many others.

Some aspects of the Columbian Exchange had a tragic impact on many Native Americans. Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian Exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans brought with them, which included smallpox and measles, led to the death of millions of Native Americans.

Describe what you see in this picture.What animals and goods were being brought to the new world?

The Aztec Empire is conquered by Hernando Cortes in Do you recall what animals and items were introduced to the Aztecs upon his arrival?

"Hernando Cortés and the Spanish soldiers confront the Indians," in Durán, La Historia antigua de la Nueva España, 1585 Library of Congress "What must it have been like to be exposed in a rush to a totally alien people, horses, steel, and new and hideous diseases?"

Explain what the Columbian Exchange was.

Is one of your favorite foods from the Old World or the New World? New World North America South America Old World Europe Asia Africa

Cocoa! Chocolate! Chocolatl! For the Aztecs cocoa: - Was a drink. They sometimes prepared it with vanilla and/or chili! - Was a currency. Aztecs used chocolate to pay their taxes! - Was a sun screen The oily layer floating in the chocolate drink was used to protect the skin against the sun. In the Aztec world cocoa had religious significance: - Cocoa was believed to be of divine origin: the cocoa tree was a bridge between earth and heaven. - Human sacrifices to propitiate God or sun were first sanctified by giving him chocolate. - Cocoa beans were given to priest’s assistants at children’s coming of age ceremonies. - During marriage ceremonies, the couple drank a symbolic cup of chocolate and exchanged cocoa beans. - Aztecs believed that drinking chocolate gave mortals some of Quetzalcoatl’s (God of learning and the wind) wisdom. What do you use chocolate for? ____________________________________________________ ___

What are the pros and cons (good and bad) of the Columbian Exchange?