8th Sept. 2014
“A metamorphosis is a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.”
With regards to a biological metamorphosis Crosby is referring to the great change of living organisms that occurred due to the Columbian Exchange.
“Since then the biota of both, most undeniably of the Americas, have in significant part been the product of revolution … the abrupt addition and explosive propagation of exotic species from the land on the other side of the waters that Columbus crossed in 1492.”(Germs, Seeds and Animals, pg. 61)
The biological metamorphosis is of great importance to not only the New World but also the Old World.
For the New World it transformed the flora and fauna of the continents, the demography of the people (along with the cultural identities) and introduced new bacteria and diseases to the continent. The biological metamorphosis is characterized by Columbus’ actions as “he mixed, mingled, jumbled, and homogenized the biota of our planet.”
(Germs, Seeds and Animals, pg. 61)
Diseases introduced to the Americas: smallpox, measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, typhus, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, cholera, scarlet fever, malaria, yellow fever, diphtheria and influenza.
(Germs, Seeds and Animals, pg. 57)
The lifestyles of peoples living in the Old World versus the New World contrasted greatly. Within the Eastern hemisphere “humans began living in dense, often sedentary, and usually unhygienic concentrations” as well as “in close proximity with their livestock, exchanged infections with their herds, and … cultivated pathogens and parasites.”
(Germs, Seeds and Animals, pg. 57)
The biological metamorphosis was also significant in the Old World as they experienced a change in demographics, crop production and nation’s economy. With the a new influx of imported goods from the New World along with increased crop production, settlement and businesses further altered the landscape.
24th Sept. 2014
Colonization of the Americas was an example of an ecological revolution. Human settlements transformed the wild and plentiful landscapes of the American terrain. After deforesting large areas, spaces were filled with houses, farms and croplands. The makeup of the land, flora and fauna would never be the same, with changing landscapes and the introduction of new species it was the stage for an ecological revolution throughout the New World.
“Since then (the exchange) the biota of both, most undeniably of the Americas, have in significant part been the product of revolution”
(Germs, Seeds and Animals, pg. 61)
