Food-wise the Americas got primarily domesticated animals , cereals and such staple foods as coffee, sugarcane and bananas.
Horses - actually were not not introduced to the Americas by Columbus and the Europeans who followed, horses were brought back to the New World! That's probably why the American Mustang populated the prairies so fast or in reality re-populated.
At Karma Farms you can still enjoy these beautiful Colonial Spanish Horses.
Cattle - the native American Bison was almost completely extinct and replaced by cattle in the Americas. Christopher Columbus brought the first Spanish breed cattle - Corrientes as early as on his second trip to the New World in 1493. Different breeds were brought to America by the English in 1608 and soon after by the Dutch and the French to give rise to the New England cattle breeds. Now American cattle ranching faces problems like droughts and is faces charges that cattle causes climate warming.
Pigs - like a wild fire pigs spread out throughout the Continents. Pork as food is a great source. Pigs are peaceful and friendly as domesticated animals and pets. When returned into the nature pigs are very invasive due to their extreme intelligence and omnivorous diet and eating habits. They quickly become wild or feral pigs, again. Contrary to popular belief, pigs are clean animals. Pigs wallow in mud and use it like clothing to protect themselves from heat. By the way, did you know that pigs are genetically related to hippos and whales?
Sugarcane, Euro-Asian grains, coffee and bananas are examples of plants, which tremendously changed the American landscape as a result of the Columbian Exchange. They have not, however, had such a revolutionary impact as the domesticated animals: the horse, the cattle and the pig.
No comments:
Post a Comment