Lesson 2: The Columbian Exchange (The Age of Exploration)

🥔🌽 Plants and Animals

After Columbus and other explorers reached the Americas, something big happened: plants and animals began moving between the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the New World (the Americas). This was called the Columbian Exchange.

From the Americas to Europe:

• 🌽 Corn

• 🥔 Potatoes

• 🍅 Tomatoes

• 🍫 Cacao (for chocolate!)

• 🦃 Turkeys

From Europe to the Americas:

• 🐄 Cows

• 🐎 Horses

• 🐖 Pigs

• 🌾 Wheat

• 🍇 Grapes

📖 Story: Native Americans had never seen horses before! When the Spanish arrived riding them, many thought the rider and horse were one creature. Later, horses helped many Native American tribes hunt buffalo and move quickly.

🎨🛠️ Culture and Technology

People also shared ideas, languages, and tools.

Europeans brought:

• 📖 The alphabet and writing

• 🔨 Metal tools and weapons

• ⛪ Christianity

Native Americans had:

• 🏹 New farming methods

• 🧵 Beautiful art and weaving

• 🌽 Knowledge of plants like corn and tobacco

📖 Story: Native people taught Europeans how to grow corn by planting it with beans and squash. This was called the “Three Sisters” and helped many settlers survive.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦💰 Society and Economy

The Columbian Exchange changed how people lived and worked.

• Many Native Americans died from new diseases like smallpox. They had no defense against them. 😢

• European colonies grew in the Americas. These colonies used land for farming, especially sugar and tobacco.

• The demand for labor led to the slave trade. Millions of Africans were taken to the Americas and forced to work. This was a dark and terrible part of history.

📖 Story: A boy in Spain might eat corn for the first time and love it. At the same time, a girl in Peru might see sheep for the first time and use the wool to make warm clothes.