The Columbian Exchange, Population Growth, and the Industrial Revolution

The Columbian Exchange (1490s- late 1700s) is the term for the trade that developed between the Eastern and the Western hemispheres (The new and the Old Worlds).  It has lasting effects on both worlds that shaped the modern era and brought about the tremendous effects of the Industrial Revolution. In the old world, new food items such as sweet potatoes, beans, corn and tomatoes began to give rise to more population growth. Some commodities also developed such as coffee, sugar and tobacco, which led to the “cash crop” agricultural system developing over time in many of the colonial settlements in the Americans. The New World also gave cotton and silver to the old world – the silver leaving to mass inflation and the Price Revolution that changed Europe forever. In the new world, the diseases played a large role as massive amounts of Native American population were decimated – making them vulnerable to European attacks and enslavement. Introduction of pack animals such as Horses and domestic animals like the Cows and Goats led to the development of new agricultural systems, a change in the warfare and the cultural interaction of the native population with each other and with the Europeans.  But the more profound effect was felt in Europe as suddenly new lands were made available for those adventurers and those seeking fortunes to venture out into.  This led to more room for population growth in Europe and new lands being made available for the young European aristocrats to seek their fortunes abroad.

The introduction of Potatoes led to new staple crops in Europe an agricultural revolution swept across the continent. In Ireland, the Potatoes became so much integrated into the Irish life that a potato virus led to devastating conditions in Ireland. But nevertheless, the new introduction of these crops and more commodities as well as the influx of new wealth led to the Population Growth in Europe. The development of early marriages in the European lifestyle and higher birth rates lead to an ever increasing population and thus more children being born in the population resulted in a young, enthusiastic and growing workforce in many European cities. As population grew, more and more people began to migrate into the cities, giving rise to more urbanization and a slow development of faster working conditions (early factory systems). But the growth of cities all can be directly attributed to the Agricultural Revolution that began with the Columbian Exchange. The city population and workers were all supported by the increased production of agricultural goods and crops like the Potatoes. With abundance of agricultural productions, more people were freed to become specialized in their various crafts and professions. Thus the Industrial Revolution (1760-1851) can be defined as the period where major transformations of European agricultural, technological, and manufacturing and production capabilities had a significant impact of the social, economical and political landscape of Europe.