1 Muhtasim Ahanaf Mr.Wolov Humanities 04 October 2019 Characterizing Columbus and the Columbian exchange. In 1492, Columbus started his first voyage to find a new route to Asia. Columbus never accomplished this. He did, however, find new land not known to the Old World. The Old World called the land the New World. This land makes up modern-day North and South America and also the Caribbean. Columbus went back and forth four times. Columbus and his crew forgot all good things come with a cost. Columbus's voyage started what we now know was the Columbian Exchange, which was the exchange between the natives of the new world and the Europeans. Columbus started the Columbian Exchange however ended many years after his death. Though most of Europe thought of him as a hero, Christopher Columbus should be characterized negatively because he cheated the natives. The Columbian Exchange should also be characterized negatively because it started a pandemic that caused 90% of the native population to die out. Characterizing Columbus Christopher Columbus should be characterized negatively because he manipulated the Taino. Before the 21st century, most people learned that Columbus was a hero who discovered America and colonized people from Europe in the New World. This turned out to be a little exaggerated. Columbus indeed came to the New World; however, he did not come in contact 2 with the actual continents. It is projected that Columbus landed in the Caribbean, more specifically, Jamaica. Columbus landed in Jamaica on his fourth voyage and wanted the natives there to feed him and his crew. The natives did that for the first couple times; however, they stopped after Columbus, and his crew kept asking. Then, they threatened to attack and told them to grow their food. Columbus read in his scientific journals that an eclipse would happen. Columbus and his crew told the natives that they had the power of the moon, and if they did not give them food, they would take it away (Hakim 85-86). These events show that Columbus took advantage of the Taino. Columbus is negative because he tricked the Taino to help himself. Characterizing the Columbian exchange The Columbian Exchange should be characterized negatively because it caused 90% of the population of the natives to decrease. During the Columbian Exchange, the Old World and the New World traded things. One of the things that got traded was diseases, mainly smallpox. The natives had never faced these diseases before; they had weak immunity to these diseases. Over time, the population dropped (Hakim 83-84). The Europeans formed permanent colonization of the Americas. This event played a significant role in the death of the natives. The Europeans were very strict and skeptic about religion. They were strict Catholics. They saw that the natives did not have religion. They would try to force the natives into being Christians. They killed elders, women, and children. They threw babies into rocks. They threw them in the ocean, yelling," Boil there, you children of the devil." This shows why the Columbian Exchange was negative. Counterclaim and Rebuttal 3 The Columbian Exchange was multiple exchanges between the Old World and the New World. Some people believe that the Columbian Exchange should be characterized positively because it allowed both parts of the world to trade and get new things. The Columbian Exchange brought animals to the New World, which helped modernize the area. On the other hand, the Europeans got crops such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton. These crops are known as cash crops, which helped the Europeans earn money from selling these crops (Hakim 83-84). The Europeans also got one crop that was very useful to them. These were potatoes. Potatoes are calorically dense, and they grow in large numbers (CE video). The evidence supports their point entirely. It shows how both parts of the world were able to get new things from each other. The people that characterize the Columbian Exchange positively have a valid point and have excellent reasoning. Their argument is not as strong as the people who say that the Columbian Exchange should be negative because there was negative parts than there were positive parts. The Columbian exchange Caused 90% of the native population to die out. The Old world brought diseases from animals, which caused this. Never the less, the positive side had a valid argument. CONCLUSION Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Exchange should be characterized negatively because of the havoc it caused to the natives. Christopher Columbus tricked the natives and only helped himself. The Columbian exchange wiped out 90% of the native population. This is a topic that should be cared for because the actions done by the Europeans lead to the decrease of the native population. The Europeans pushed the natives out of their land. The natives today are small in numbers and are living off land in Okla. 4 Works Cited C.E video Joy Hakim The First Americans Las Casas
