Back and Forth Across the Atlantic in the Columbian Exchange

Question

1. Was the Columbian Exchange more negative or positive ?
2. What was the effect of the Columbian Exchange on the New World?

Answer 1

1. The answer depends on which region of the world we are referring to. The Columbian Exchange was positive for Europe, negative for Africa, and negative for the Americas.
2. The Columbian Exchange introduced African slavery to North and South America. Old world diseases like smallpox and influenza decimated the indigenous peoples native to the Americas. Raw materials from the "New World" were exported to Europe and made into manufactured products. Then people in the New World had to buy the finished products from Europe. This led to a perpetual power imbalance and left the New World underdeveloped in terms of technology and machinery.