In Our Time BBC Radio 4-- The Columbian Exchange

Since I retired, I have made a point of trying to listen to In Our Time on a Thursday morning. I know that if I miss one it will be available online: there are 1088 episodes on there on subjects ranging from the Mariana Trench to St Thomas Aquinas. The most recent one was about the Columbian Exchange. This title comes from the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, and the subsequent conquest of the Americas by the various European powers.

The concept of an exchange derives from the idea that assets were exchanged between the indigenous population of the Americas and the Europeans. It was not a fair exchange but had truly global consequences. Indigenous populations encountered smallpox, typhoid, influenza, measles, and other illnesses to which they lacked immunity. It is estimated that approximately 90% of the population died from these diseases.

The people of the Americas had no contact with Europe, Asia or Africa prior to these times, apart from the Vikings in the East of Canada and perhaps Polynesians. The Europeans brought back syphilis to their peoples.

One effect of this loss of population was that there were not enough farmers to grow crops, and so wild vegetation went rampant. It was suggested that this contributed to climate change, in that more CO2 was absorbed cooling the Earth and contributing to the Little Ice Age. It also was a factor in the transportation of 12 million slaves from West Africa to the Americas (over 1 million of whom did not survive the perilous journey). They were needed to work on the land and in the mines. The majority of them were taken to Brazil, some of them to grow coffee, a crop imported there by the Europeans.
The Europeans brought horses, sheep, cattle, pigs and goats to the Americas, and no doubt changed the diet of indigenous people. The Europeans received potatoes, tomatoes, maize, chilli peppers, pineapples and other foodstuffs. There was also tobacco. The diet of Europeans improved considerably and populations grew. This contributed to developments in Europe and to the Industrial Revolution. Food became global and chilli peppers found their way into Indian curries. Spanish brought back silver which significantly influenced global trade.

I must mention the excellent Melvyn Bragg, who retired from the programme recently, having presented it for many years. It is now presented admirably by Misha Glenney.

I am looking forward to the next programme about Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII.

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