When Columbus found the New World, he brought along all the baggage of his European culture. Besides trade goods, he and his crew introduced diseases that the Indians had never experienced, European languages and customs, and foods grown and eaten back in the old country. The Indians, as Columbus named them, offered their treasures in return. This became what the historians call the Columbian Exchange. Columbus' accidental discovery had a huge impact on the whole world, still influencing the world today.
Did this Olive Tree come from the New World to the Old or from the Old World to the New?
Test your knowledge. Which of these foods came from the New World and which from the Old World (including things that had come to Europe originally from Africa and Asia)?
Bananas Chocolate Coffee Corn Pineapple Olives
Potato Sugar cane Tobacco Tomato Grains Onions
Check your answers in the next blog post.