Columbian Voyages- Their Effects on American Culture

A detailed Summary of Columbian Voyages- Their Effects on American Culture

In his article "The Columbian Voyages, the Columbian Exchange, and Their Historians", Alfred W. Crosby seems to think that much of the Columbian voyages and what came out of them was detrimental to many cultures, most of all the Native Americans. Crosby brings up many institutions and ideologies to re-enforce his opinion, such as the slave trade and the conquest of many Native American

One of the major effects of the Columbian exchange was the decimation of the Native American population. Crosby attributes this to many factors, the conquest of the Europeans, the cultural vacuum created by European attempts to Christianize the Amerindians, and the introduction of new and lethal micro-organisms into the ecosystem. More commonly known as viruses, these organisms wreaked havoc with

a population that had never been exposed to them previously. Crosby chalks this up as another way the Europeans decimated the population of the Amerindians, but neglected to mention that although the introduction of new viruses and diseases into a culture is devastating, it is an integral part of nature and cannot be avoided.

There are many reasons that disease is a necessary part of an ecosystem. First, and most obvious, is t

Another reason that disease is needed was defined by Thomas Malthus. His concept is called the Malthusian Law, which states that the population will increase geometrically while the food supply will increase arithmetically. This, simply put, means that the population will grow enormously faster than the food supply will. Predictably, this leads to starvation and death. Disease, as a natural check, prevents this from happening. As the population is checked, the supply of food can keep up with the growth of population, keeping the ecosystem balanced. If disease was not a prevalent factor to check the growth of population, then the Malthusian Law certainly would be.

lethal as Ebola and AIDS are, they still have their natural place in the world's ecosystem.

Viruses also help society by advancing science. Each time a new virus is discovered, medical science rushes to find a cure. And, with each new epidemic, science takes great steps in the understanding and curing of diseases. If it wasn't for the Bubonic Plague, it may have taken decades for doctors to discover that bleeding wasn't a viable treatment of diseases. Many of the breakthroughs of medical science

However

Some common words found in the essay are:
Malthusian Law, Christianize Amerindians, Bubonic Plague, Native American, Americans Crosby, Crosby Columbian, Ebola AIDS, Thomas Malthus, food chain, medical science, growth population, , top food chain, viruses help, malthusian law, top food, natural checks, native american, reason disease, columbian voyages,

Approximate Word count = 802
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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Columbian Voyages- Their Effects on American Culture

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